


The Archer

by brettbrat16



Series: The Aurora Queen Saga [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Explicit Language, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Original Character(s), Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 57
Words: 187,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28122774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brettbrat16/pseuds/brettbrat16
Summary: [Book 1]"I've been the archer, I've been the prey.Who could ever leave me darling, and who could stay?"
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Roy Harper & Original Female Character(s), Roy Harper/Original Male Character(s), Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Aurora Queen Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077767
Comments: 13
Kudos: 12





	1. Prologue

_Preface_

All Aurora could see was gray. Grey ash, grey concrete amongst the dead bodies covered in the grey. Glancing down, she caught sight of two familiar figures. Getting to her feet, Rory ran as fast as her 11-year-old legs could carry her. Falling to her knees, her tiny hands tried to lift the slabs of concrete off the people buried underneath.

“Help!” she screamed. “Somebody help me!”

Rory’s arms were seconds away from giving out when two large, muscular arms arrived and began to lift the concrete with her. What she saw underneath only confirmed her worst fears. Letting out a scream of anguish, Rory’s eyes met with the lifeless gaze of her parents.

Desperate for any form of comfort, Rory collapsed into the green-clad hero who helped uncover her parents. She felt his strong arms wrap around her in a comforting embrace.

“Hey Green, we need yo-” The voice of a woman was cut off, the sight broke her heart. The Green Arrow was sat on his knees, holding a little girl who was grieving over the sight of her dead parents.

Green Arrow looked up at his wife and partner. “Canary, help me get her back to base,” he said, his own voice strained from holding back sobs. Black Canary gave him a nod, walking over and taking the young girl into her arms.

Green Arrow rose to his feet. “I’ll help Red finish up here. Get her out,” he ordered.

Black Canary gave him yet another nod and began to walk to her bike. “Can you tell me your name sweetheart?” she asked the sobbing child.

“A-Aurora. But I like Rory more,” she responded, hiccuping at the end.

“Aurora? That’s a beautiful name.” Rory looked up at the beautiful woman carrying her.

“Really?” she asked. “My best friend used to say the same thing.”

“Well, your best friend is very smart.” The two of them arrived at Black Canary’s bike and she gently set the girl down. “I’m going to need you to hold on, can you do that for me?”

Aurora gave her a nod and let the woman place a slightly larger helmet on her head, fastening it tight. Once Rory was ready, Canary set her on the bike and climbed on behind her, keeping the girl close to her chest. Revving up her bike, the two of them took off for the Arrow Cave.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

**_9 Years Later_ **

“Was that supposed to hurt?” The Grey Arrow pulled the mugger’s knife out of her shoulder and flipped it around in her hand with a wide grin on her face. Stumbling, the mugger dropped the girl and began to back away. Grey Arrow, knelt to help up the poor girl and the man took this as his chance to escape.

“Where do you think you’re off to?” she asked, throwing the already bloody knife into his thigh making him fall to the floor with a cry of pain. Before he could even get the chance to stand up, Grey Arrow put her foot on his chest pinning him to the floor.

“Alright! I give up! Take me in!” he cried.

The grin didn’t leave her face as she gripped the knife hanging from his thigh. “I want you to apologize to the lady first,” she demanded, the man groaning in pain.

“The hell I will!” he countered. Grey Arrow only turned the knife in his thigh, making him scream in pain.

“I said, apologize.” She demanded once again, her voice dropping to a dangerous tone that the criminals of Star City knew all too well.

“Arrow, I don’t nee-” the girl started.

“He will apologize, it’s considered good manners.” Grey Arrow seethed, twisting the knife further.

The man let out a blood-curdling scream, “Alright! Fine, I’ll apologize!” he cried. At this, Grey Arrow stilled her hand.

“We’re waiting.”

“I’m sorry! God, I’m sorry! Now let me go!”

Grey Arrow released her grip on the knife and got to her feet. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” she asked.

“Fuck you.” he spat, gripping his bleeding thigh.

Grey Arrow punched him, knocking the man out. “In your dreams.” Then she turned to the girl behind her, staring at her in bewilderment.

“Call the police.” She ordered, the girl picked up her phone and began dialing quickly. “Also, don’t mention me if you don’t mind.” and with that, Grey Arrow took off for her bike, hidden a few blocks down.

Dropping down from the fire escape, she landed on her bike gracefully and revved it to life the sleek, black vehicle humming underneath her. Blowing some stray hair out of her face, she took off for Queen Manor.

Pulling into the underside, Aurora Sonnet-Queen removed her domino mask, her brown eyes scanning across the Arrow Cave. Swinging her leg up and off the bike, Rory made her way to her case and put her mask and weapons away safely.

The Arrow Cave had been quiet ever since Roy left to join the Outlaws with his other best friend; Jackson Rod or whatever along with a few of their other mutual friends and old flames of Rory’s. If her memory served her right, and she was always right, there was only one person on the team that she hadn’t met and it was Jackson.

Grabbing some gauze, Rory untied her chest piece and let it fall to her waist still wearing a black razor top underneath. The stab wound on her shoulder wasn’t bad, but it did need to be doctored. Lucky for her, Oliver and Dinah taught her how to apply first aid.

Dressing the wound was not a painful as she thought it would be, it just required cleaning and a couple of homemade stitches. Once she finished, Rory slid the rest of her suit off and hung it up in her display case. Taking her glance to the left, she saw not only her Arrowette suit but her White Arrow suit.

Every time she laid her eyes on this suit, Rory felt a pang in her chest longing for the girl she used to be. But she could never be that girl again. Turning away, she made her way to the stairs that led up to the mansion. The second she entered the main lobby, there was a yell across the mansion.

“Aurora James Queen! My study now!”

Something told Rory that Oliver found out about something she did and that was never good news.

Normally, Oliver and Rory had a great relationship, but this last year was hard on her. Aurora used to be the White Arrow; the symbol of hope and pure goodness in Star City. But everything was different now.

Rory was now the Grey Arrow and preferred to work alone. Oliver, Dinah, and especially Roy hated that she pushed them all away. Roy had been her best friend for years now and she trusted him more than anyone, except for the fact that she refused to work with him now and it was for his own safety.

What could Oliver had found out this time? Truth be told Rory didn’t hold many secrets from Oliver, just the ones she knew that he would not agree or approve of. Slowly creaking the door open, Rory saw both Oliver and Dinah waiting for her. Now she knew that whatever this was about, it was bad.

Hey Oli, what’s up?“ she asked, her signature smile gracing her face.

"What’s up? Why don’t you ask the three comatose thugs you put in the hospital last night?” he frowned, crossing his arms.

Well, there could be worse he found out about. Rory moved and sat in the chair across from him. “They were rapists Oli, they’re lucky that I didn’t castrate and leave them for dead,” she said sternly, her gaze not breaking from Oliver’s.

Oliver’s eyes didn’t break their gaze either. It seemed that she was searching for any sense of remorse let alone any emotion but all he saw was nothing. That’s what worried him and Dinah the most. Rory seemed to have no form of emotion any more other than rage and her usual sarcasm.

“Aurora, you can’t keep going on like this. One day you’re going to take it too far and you won’t be able to come back from it.” Dinah said, moving to kneel next to her seat.

Rory avoided Dinah’s gaze, knowing full well that she could convince her to do anything with just one look.

“In case you both forgot, I did cross that line. Looks like I am just fine.” she snapped, not taking her gaze off Oliver.

“That’s the thing, you aren’t fine. We adopted you, raised you, and brought you into this world of crime-fighting. Of course, we can tell when you are not fine and you haven’t been fine since our last encounter with Slade.”

Hearing that name set Rory’s heart on fire. Memories flooded her mind of all the dead bodies, including her parents. Absentmindedly, her hand traced the thin silver band on her wrist. The last gift her father had given her mother for their last anniversary.

“This is why you can’t stay here.”

Rory’s eyes narrowed. “What, so you’re going to kick out your daughter?”

“No, you are going to be staying with a friend from the league for a while.”

Rory let out a groan. “Oh please tell me that it’s not the golden boy, Superman.” she threw her head back. “I can’t do his boy scout attitude.”

Dinah tried to hide her laugh, “No, Clark is not who you are staying with dear.”

“Then where would I be staying?” Rory asked, looking at her adoptive mother.

“You are going to Gotham City to stay with Bruce Wayne. Dinah and I think that if anyone can help you overcome the darkness in your heart, it would be the Dark Knight himself.” Oliver explained. “Even Roy agrees with us. He is just as worried about you.”

“You’re sending me to Gotham? Oli, did Merlyn hit you too hard last week? The crime rate in Gotham is worse. You really think that this will help?” she countered. “Besides, do you not remember the last time I saw Bruce? I kicked his ass and bleached his cape.”

“Yes, I remember. It still baffles me that you managed to bleach his bat cape. But Bruce agrees, he thinks you might be able to learn something from him and his family. All of them have been trained at a young age too.” Oliver said, his gaze not faltering.

Letting out a sigh, Rory nodded. “All right fine, when do I leave?”

Both Oliver and Dinah decided that it was best if only one of them flew Rory down to Gotham, Star City still needed a hero and they were not stupid enough to let her go on her own either. The good news was that the flight was only 8 hours long, even though Rory hated flying. The last time she flew, it was not on a plane.

The Justice League’s resident golden boy decided that it was a good idea to fly her across Star City. Supes was in town to help Oliver on a case when Count Vertigo attacked the hospitals. Just remembering that day sent shivers down her spine, making Oliver take notice.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

Rory nodded, “Yeah, just glad that there is no one in Gotham who can fly. Right?” she asked. Oliver laughed at her question.

“No one I know of can fly in Gotham.” His statement set Rory at ease as she finally relaxed into her seat.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Tim was sat on the couch looking through the news feed on his phone, keeping up to date with everything going on not just in Gotham but the rest of the world. It sufficed to say that Tim rarely ever quit working after he became Robin at the age of 15, now he was 19 and wasn’t even Robin anymore. He was Red Robin, one of Gotham’s protectors along with the rest of his family.

“Master Tim, would you be so kind as to take your feet off of the couch I just vacuumed?” Alfred asked, holding a tray with a mug of coffee on it.

Tim bent his head backward to look at the English butler and gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Alf.”

“Apology accepted, now would you please remind your brothers that we are expecting a guest?” Alfred requested, handing Tim the mug of coffee he had asked for 20 minutes before. Tim gave him a nod and rose to his feet, taking a large sip of the coffee. “Also, remind them I want the manor to stay clean until they arrive.”

Tim gave Alfred yet another nod. “Sure thing, also thank you for the coffee.” he smiled and walked out of the sitting room. Knowing his brothers, they would be down in the Batcave prepping for the night’s patrol. Something Tim did 3 hours prior. Turning the handles on the clock in the study, Tim drank half of his coffee in one gulp before descending the stairs.

What he saw when he got down there was no surprise to him. Of course, Dick, Jason, and Damian were all down there but so were Stephanie and Barbara. Cass was still in Japan on Batman Inc. business and wouldn’t be back for another month.

There stood Stephanie in her average daily wear, with what looked to be jumbo marshmallows shoved into her mouth with Dick and Jason egging her on. He didn’t have to see the look on Babs’ face to see that she did not approve, and Damian was his usual self standing off to the side observing the others’ antics.

“Guys, Alfred told me to remind you that our guests are arriving.” he sipped more coffee and stood by Barbara and his assumptions were right. Steph was, for some unknown reason, shoving jumbo marshmallows into her mouth.

“Yeah, yeah. Timmy, you have to look at this. Steph has 14 jumbo marshmallows in her mouth. 14!” Dick said, clearly excited.

Damian huffed, “Why don’t you tell him why she has 14 marshmallows in her mouth?”

Tim looked at his siblings, obviously, it had something to do with Dick and Jason because they were the most excited about it. Knowing them, it was some kind of bet to see how many marshmallows she could fit into her mouth which would also explain the look of disapproval from Barbara. One wrong move and Steph would either spit them all over or choke and need CPR.

“Jason made a bet to Dick on how many she can fit didn’t he?” Tim asked.

“Bold of you to assume that I started this babybird.” Jason retorted.

“Did you?”

“Of course I did.”

Tim rolled his eyes and looked at the clock on his phone, according to Alfred their guests were an hour away and Bruce wanted everyone to meet them. Like clockwork, Bruce appeared and took one look at his kids and let out a long sigh.

“Why is it that every time we have people coming over, at least two of you do something stupid?” he asked, as Stephanie shoved two more marshmallows making Dick grin wider.

“Oh come on B, at least let us finish this bet. I am 3 away from winning. I bet she could fit 20 in her big mouth, Dick bet 18.” Jason said, not turning to look at Bruce. "Besides, what’s so important about these people anyway?“

"Oliver Queen is bringing his ward to stay with us for a while. They’ve been having some trouble and they thought I could help,” he explained, crossing his arms and watched as Steph fit yet two more marshmallows maxing it out at 18 like Dick had bet.

“Ha! I told you she could fit 18!” he taunted, pointing a finger in Jason’s face.

“Don’t ha me yet Dickiebird. If she fits two more, I win.” Jason grinned, pushing Dick’s hand away.

Bruce dropped his head in defeat. There was no way they were going to listen to him when they were like this. Everyone watched as Steph grabbed 2 more marshmallows and began to fit one into her mouth much to Dick’s dismay. Jason crossed his fingers as she tried to push the last one in to make it 20, but gagged halfway through and spat them all over the floor.

“19! I win! Take that Jason, you have to bake me cookies now.” Dick cried triumphantly. Jason however did not look that impressed.

“You lost too looser, she had 19. Not 18.”

“Jay, that’s not how it works. She got to my number, not yours. I win.” Dick argued.

The next thing they knew, Jason was trying to put Dick into a headlock who just kept flipping away out of his hold only making Jason try harder.

“Master Richard, Master Jason! Stop fighting and come upstairs. Our guests are almost here.” Alfred announced, appearing at Bruce’s side. Both boys stopped and rubbed the back of their necks.

“Sorry, we’ll be right up,” Dick said and began to help Barbara upstairs.

“What’s so important about Oliver’s kid anyway? Did he blow up a building or something?” Jason asked, heading for the stairs.

“Rory has been having problems, I think we can help,” Bruce explained yet again.

“His name is Rory?” Damian asked, crossing his arms. “Sounds stupid.”

“Master Damian, there will be no name-calling of our guest. Understood?” Alfred scolded. Damian huffed again and gave him a nod.

Tim was the last one up the stairs, with Alfred right behind him. So the guy’s name was Rory, what did he look like and what problems was he having? With their eventual arrival, Tim would find out soon enough.

About 20 minutes later, everyone was in the main lobby awaiting Oliver and his ward.

“What do we even know about this guy?” Jason asked.

“Jay, can you not be suspicious of everyone?” Stephanie asked, leaning over to look at him.

“Being suspicious of everyone keeps you alive, big mouth,” Jason replied with a smirk.

“Who are you calling big mouth?! If anyone is the big mouth it is you!” she yelled at him, a frown upon her face.

“I’m not the one who put 19 jumbo marshmallows in my mouth on a bet!” Jason yelled back, and like every time someone starts a yelling match, everyone began yelling at each other.

“Enough!” Bruce yelled, his voice vibrating off the walls of the manor. Immediately, everyone went quiet with the occasional mumble of “Sorry, Bruce.”

Tim played with his fingers, there were a million other things he could be doing at the moment but they were waiting on Oliver and Rory to show up. The name Rory sounded familiar to him as well, years ago he knew someone by that name but there was no way they were the same person. His Rory was a girl for starters and Oliver’s was a boy, so they couldn’t be the same person.

There was a knock on the door and everyone straightened up. Alfred opened the door and in walked Oliver Queen with a few suitcases. “Hey, Alfie! Long time no see!” he cried.

Alfred gave him a smile. “Nice to see you again Master Oliver.” Oliver gave Alfred a pat on the back and looked back out the door.

“Come on Rory!” he called. The person who appeared through the door next surprised everyone.

Rory Queen was in fact not a boy. Rory Queen was a girl and not just any girl. Rory Queen was Tim’s childhood best friend.

“Everyone, meet Aurora Queen.” Bruce introduced.

Rory’s eyes looked around and assessed everyone in the room, she went from Alfred to Bruce to the line behind him. The boy at the end of the line caught her eye. The first words out of her mouth were not in greeting at all.

“Tim? What the fuck are you doing here?” she asked.

Immediately, everyone’s eyes turned to look at Tim. “What, you know her?” Dick asked curiously.

Tim was speechless, he hadn’t seen Rory in 13 years and she looked the same. Of course, the last time he had seen her she was 7 and he was 6, she had grown but her eyes and smile were still the same. All Tim could do was nod in response.

“Wait, you knew she was a girl and neither you nor Bruce thought to tell the rest of us?” Jason cut in.

“Well, I didn’t want to ruin your assumption, Jason. Maybe you should think before daring someone to put 20 jumbo marshmallows in their mouth.” Bruce stated a small grin on his face. “But I had no idea Tim knew her.”

“In his defense, it’s been 13 years and I was Aurora Sonnet then.” Rory stated, looking at Tim who seemed to be in shock.

“Timmy? Hello? Earth to Timmy?” Steph said, waving her hand in front of his face. Tim’s mind was going a million miles a minute.

Why the hell was she Aurora Queen and not Aurora Sonnet? Clearly, Oliver was her father figure now, so what did that mean about her parents? Last he checked he was still married to Dinah, so he couldn’t be her stepfather. Bruce had also said she was Oliver’s ward like Tim and the rest were to him.

So that left only one option, Michael and Clara Sonnet were dead and he didn’t know until now.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he finally found his voice. “Yeah, we were kids. She moved to Star City because she got into a prestigious ballet school.” Tim explained. “How is that going by the way,” he asked.

Rory’s face fell, the thought of dance always brought her back to her parents, and these days she just didn’t have the heart to dance anymore. “I stayed until I graduated 4 years ago.”

“4 years ago? But that means you would have been like 15 when you graduated?” Dick asked, clearly confused. She was about the same age as Tim, right?

“I was 16, I did highschool in 2 years.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped. Not only was Rory Queen a girl, a pretty one at that but she was a genius and a vigilante like them. It wasn’t long before the gears started to turn in Dick and Stephanie’s heads, knowing someone close to them who was just like that.

“Well, you are welcome here Miss Queen,” Alfred said with a smile.

“I’m leaving her in your capable hands, Alfie. Take care of her.” Oliver ruffled Rory’s hair, “I have to get going, Dinah can only do so much without me. Be good and for the love of everything do not bleach the cape again.” he said giving her a quick kiss on the forehead and headed out the door.

“That was you!?” Stephanie yelled, “I had never seen Bruce so angry, how did you do it?”

Rory went to open her mouth, but Bruce stopped whatever she was about to say. “Never mind the cape getting bleached, she is not telling you because I know at least two of you would try to replicate it.” he pointed his gaze at Jason and Steph.

“I feel as if we should be insulted that he would assume we would try it,” Steph mumbled.

“Do you blame him? Have you not seen the things we have done?” Jason laughed and shook his head.

“Enough about the bleached cape, Rory let me introduce my family,” Bruce said. He gestured to the first person in line, he was tall with black hair and blue eyes. “This is Dick.”

Dick stuck his hand out, Rory taking it and giving it a good shake. “Nice to meet you, Rory, I hope you’ll enjoy your stay here,” he said with a charming smile.

The next person in line looked Rory over with a slight smirk. “Jason Todd, I’d say the same but half the time I don’t enjoy it here,” he said, making Rory laugh a little. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.

Next to Jason was a blonde girl, immediately she took Rory’s hand and shook it. "The name’s Stephanie, glad we finally have another woman in the house. Babs and I are being suffocated with all the testosterone.” she chuckled.

Rory let out a chuckle, “Glad I could balance it out.”

Next to Stephanie was another female but she had red hair, Rory could only assume this was the Babs she mentioned. Barabara reached up and shook Rory’s hand. “I look forward to working with you.” she smiled.

Next to Babs was another boy, but he was shorter and had a darker complexion and actually resembled Bruce a little. Rory stuck her hand out, only for him to reject it completely with a huff. “Sonnet.” was all he said.

“That’s Damian, he isn’t a people person,” Tim said from his side.

“Are you sure you’re even a person Drake and not just some robot Father concocted?” Damian retorted.

“Ooh, been working on that one all day little D?” Tim taunted, making Damian glare at him. “Tt, whatever,” he mumbled.

It was then Rory turned her attention to Tim, the best friend she hadn’t seen in over a decade. She didn’t know how to address him, was Tim okay or did he prefer Timothy now? Should she hug him, but they weren’t that close anymore so it could be overstepping boundaries. She looked at Tim and it seemed that he was thinking just as hard if not harder about their situation.

Rory followed her instincts and pulled Tim into a tight embrace. “I missed you, Tim,” she mumbled softly. She felt Tim’s arms wrap themselves around her and hold her just as tight.

“I missed you too, songbird.” he smiled.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Rory looked around her new room, it was about the same size as her room back in Queen Manor. There was a bed with a neutral color bedspread and several pillows, with a nightstand on both sides of the bed. Each nightstand had a lamp on it and a vase of flowers, probably put there by Alfred. Rory smiled at the Daisies in the vase, Oliver must have told him they were her favorite. Leaning down, she took in the sweet floral smell that reminded her of home. Across the room was a desk with a TV mounted on the wall above it with the remotes resting below it. To the left of it was a dresser set with a vanity, and to the right were two doors.

Walking over she opened one door and saw that it was a massive walk-in closet full of racks and drawers and shelves all for her clothes. Did Rory even have enough clothes to fill this thing, she had no idea. All she brought were three suitcases of clothes and other necessities that she needed. Oliver told her that if she needed more, just to let him know and he would have it shipped immediately. Closing the closet door, she opened the second door and saw an attached bathroom with two sinks, a toilet, and a shower with a tub.

Looking through the cabinets, they were stocked with the basic essentials. Of course, she had brought her own bathroom stuff, Rory preferred to use her stuff; it was best suited for her hair and it was her favorite scent.

Leaving the bathroom, Rory walked over to the large window and pulled back the curtains. She opened the balcony door and her jaw dropped, the view out of her balcony was breathtaking. Of course, Wayne Manor was a ways away from Gotham City, but she could still see the skyline in the distance among the beautiful scenery. There was a forest, a waterfall with a small lake under it. Her view at Queen Manor was beautiful, but it was nothing like this.

Tim stood outside her bedroom door, debating if he wanted to knock or not. He was sure that Rory was settling herself in, but Bruce had wanted them all down in the Batcave for a meeting, and that included Rory. After a few moments, he raised his hand and knocked.

There was no answer.

He knocked twice more, and still no answer.

At this point, Tim decided to open the door ever so slightly and poke his head in, and across the room stood Rory on her balcony, her brown hair blowing in the breeze. Deciding to invite himself in, he opened the door fully and walked across the room, and stopped behind her. If Rory knew he was there, she didn’t show any sign.

He put a hand on her shoulder and felt Rory tense at his touch.

Quickly, Rory grabbed his hand putting her elbow above his hand, and turned, putting him into a wrist lock. Tim let out a yelp in surprise and craned his neck to look at her with wide eyes. “Rory, it’s just me.” He said quickly.

Immediately, Rory let him go. “Sorry Tim, just surprised.” She said with a shrug.

Tim let out a laugh. “Yeah, I can tell.” He stood up and circulated his shoulder. “Good hold though, but I could have totally kicked your ass if I wanted to.”

Rory rolled her eyes. “Sure, you could computer boy, what’d you need?” A smile graced her face, watching Tim stretch out his shoulder.

“Bruce wants us all down in the cave, so I came to get you.” He explained. “I think it has to do with patrol tonight.”

Rory gave him a nod “Lead the way youngling.” She grinned.

Tim huffed a laugh. “I am only 10 months younger than you; you know?” He led the way out of the room with Rory shutting the door behind them. The two of them walked down to the cave, Rory trying to memorize the way in the massive manor.

“Don’t worry, I got lost my first few weeks here. If you yell loud enough, someone will come and find you.” He chuckled, watching Rory who responded by sticking her tongue out at him making him laugh harder.

“I’ll make sure that I yell loud enough so you can come and rescue me.” She smiled, keeping step with him as they descended the stairs into the cave.

When they came into the opening, what Rory saw was much different than the Arrow Cave. First off, it was an actual cave, and were those bats at the top? Oli always said that Bruce was one for the flair and aesthetic and boy he wasn’t kidding. The entire cave was dark, but still teched out.

There were several computer setups, but the biggest was in the middle. Beyond that was where all the vehicles were with an exit to the cave.

Tim looked at Rory and saw the shocked look on her face and laughed again. “It’s a bit much on first glance, right?”

Rory gave him a nod. “Much different than the Arrow Cave, considering this is an actual cave. Arrow Cave is basically the basement.”

Looking below, there was a training section with multiple different assets to it designed for each member of the bat family and their attributes. Currently, Dick was working with Damian on hand to hand with Steph working on her own. Jason sat off to the side, cleaning something that Rory couldn’t see. Bruce was sat with Barbara at the computer and looked up to see Rory and Tim walking down to them.

“Good, everyone is here. Let’s get started.” He called.

Dick, Damian and Steph all stopped what they were doing; Steph wiping the sweat from her brow. Jason made no move to get up but lifted his head to see what was up. Tim and Rory stopped in front of Bruce, awaiting his instructions.

“As you might have figured out already, Rory will be working with us during patrol but we can not just send her out into the field without some kind of assessment. I’m not sure how Oliver ran things, but we do have rules here, Rory.” He said, turning his attention to her.

“I’ll be honest, I doubt they are much different than his. The main one is no killing, right?” she asked, crossing her arms.

Bruce gave her a nod. “Yes. I’m going to be testing you over the next few days to see if you are up to par with the others. Each of them fights differently, so it will show how well you adapt to other’s fighting techniques.” He explained. “Do you understand so far?”

Rory gave him a salute. “Yes sir, Batman sir.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes, as everyone but Damian fought to keep their giggles in.

“I brought your suit down here already, it’s set up in its own case ready to go. First, we will be testing your fighting skills. Alfred already brought down some clothes for you to work out in. Go change and report back here.” He ordered.

Rory saluted him yet again and grabbed the clothes Alfred was holding and went to change. The outfit consisted of a straight black razor tank top with black leggings and of course black socks and shoes to match. Did this family wear anything other than black?

She walked back and began putting her hair up in a ponytail so it would stay out of her face. Everyone was waiting for her outside the boxing ring and she could hear them talking quietly.

“How well do you think she is going to do?” Dick asked, his voice still hushed.

“I doubt she will be able to stop all of us, I mean she is Oliver’s,” Jason said, leaning against the ring.

“She seems formidable enough, she put me into a hold earlier. Her reflexes are quick.” Tim explained, crossing her arms.

Bruce stood there listening to their assessments and concerns. “You three are missing one very important point.” He said.

“What’s that? She looks like she can barely lift anything.” Damian huffed.

“I helped train her.”

The boys stood there with a shocked look on their faces. They were about to open their mouths to ask questions, but Rory decided that this was the time to interrupt.

“He’s right. Bruce, Dinah, and Oliver all trained me.” She said, crossing her arms with a raised brow.

The boys turned to look at her, Stephanie and Barbara trying to hide a laugh.

“You knew she was there the whole time didn’t you B?” Jason asked.

“Of course, I did. Now, who’s first?” Bruce asked, looking between them.

“I vote Jason, he needs knocked down a few pegs.” Tim piped up.

“Why you little-“ Jason started for Tim but Bruce stopped him.

“Go ahead, Jason,” Bruce said, with a smile. Jason let out a huff and climbed into the ring. “You coming princess?” he called.

Rory rolled her eyes and climbed into the ring. “What? Afraid that you’re going to get your ass beat by a girl half your size?” she taunted.

Jason laughed, “I’m not afraid of anything, sweetheart.”

Rory let a grin grow on her face. “We’ll test that theory.” She put out a hand and beckoned him forward.

The two of them charged at the other, Jason reaching for her shoulders. Rory dropped to the floor using her momentum and slid between his legs knocking them out from under him, sending Jason to the ground with a loud thud.

Dick winced, that sounded like it hurt.

Jason got up quickly and charged at her once again, making sure that she couldn’t go between his legs again. Expecting this, Rory went to punch his stomach. Jason caught her hands and turned her around so her back was pressed to his chest, holding her arms tight across her chest.

“Give up yet princess?” he taunted.

“Last chance Jason, give up and I’ll let your comment slide.” She countered, blowing a few strands out of her face.

“Not happening.”

Rory grinned once again and used her strength and Jason’s weight against him, bending forward as Jason flew over back and onto the floor. Wrapping herself around him, Rory had Jason in a headlock on the floor between her legs using all her strength to keep him pinned making him tap out after a few seconds.

Rory let him go and stood up, “Should have taken that chance, _princess._ ” She grinned and grabbed her bottle of water taking a drink, watching Jason rub his neck.

“I’ll get you next time.” He said hopping out, making Rory laugh.

Jason was the quickest to be pinned, with Stephanie, Tim, Damian, and Dick following respectively. Watching Dick do all those flips gave Rory a headache, but once she calculated where he was going to land after each flip Dick was down.

Stephanie was hard because she was just as small as Rory was, if not smaller and she could maneuver was easier than Rory had expected. Tim only took so long because he was analyzing her the way she analyzed him and the others and he was able to land a few hits on her. Damian was a struggle because he was smaller than her, but he had extensive training outside of Bruce and he was a force to be reckoned with.

Rory was taking another drink of water when Bruce climbed into the ring. “Ready to go down again, Bats?” she said, putting her bottle down.

Bruce let out a chuckle. “Think you can get lucky twice?”

“That wasn’t luck, you’re just losing your touch old man.” She taunted.

Everyone on the side let out a laugh, quickly trying to hide it. Bruce stood there, waiting for Rory to attack. Rory was quiet and watched his movements with narrowed eyes, the tension in the air rising.

Then it happened all at once, Rory went to land several punches but Bruce blocked them all and grabbed her hand. Quickly, Rory jumped up and kicked him back with both feet making Bruce release the hold on her fist as she rolled backward away. Getting up, she charged again and kicked Bruce swinging her other leg around to land a hit on his head but he caught her foot.

Rory let out a sheepish smile. “Hey, now Bruce. I need that.”

“I know, that’s why I caught it.” He said and pulled it, making Rory lose her balance and fall to the floor with a thud. “I thought I taught you better.” He said.

Rory let out a chuckle. “You did.” When she fell, no one noticed that she managed to slip one of her shoes off. Gripping it tightly in her hand, she raised her arm and threw it at his head making Bruce catch it. While he was distracted catching it, Rory got up and jumped onto his shoulder, and flipped him to the floor, ending the fight.

Rory stood up again and glanced at the onlookers who stood there in shock. Bruce was defeated by a shoe?

Grabbing her shoe, Rory put it on and hopped out of the ring as Bruce stood up rubbing his head. “Nice distraction.”

“As you said, you taught me better.” She grinned and took a seat.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

_“Come on Green! We’re losing him!” she called. White Arrow ran across the rooftops_ _trying to keep up with the masked villain. With White Arrow being younger and smaller, she was able to move faster than the Green Arrow. Jumping off, she landed on the man they were chasing and sent them both to the floor._

_Rolling off her opponent, she landed on her knees and pulled out her bow, and aimed an arrow at him._

_The man was heavily armed, almost like he was military. The suit was a combination of orange and black and he was armed to the teeth. The interesting thing about him was that he was very precise, he never did anything without severe calculation._

_Lucky for her, The White Arrow was trained the same._

_The man stood up and eyed his opponent, it was just a simple girl. Who knew that The Green Arrow had taken on another protege? From the looks of her, she was still young no older than 20 but no younger than 18._

_“Who are you and why are you in my city?” she demanded._

_Deathstroke laughed. “Your city? If I recall, this city belonged to The Green Arrow.”_

_“His jurisdiction falls to me as well, now answer my questions. Who are you and why are you here?” she demanded once again, tightening the grip on her bow._

_“What are you going to fight me?” he asked, standing to meet his full height towering over the girl. He pulled his sword out of the sheath on his back and swung it in his hand._

_“If that’s what it takes, then I will,” she said, rising to her feet her eyes not moving away and her bow still trained on him._

_“White, do not engage this man alone!” Green Arrow said through his com. “I repeat, do not engage!”_

_White Arrow ignored him. “I have him in my sights Green, I’m not going to let him get away.”_

_The man in front of her took off his helmet to reveal dark eyes that bore into hers with a large grin across his aged face. “You should really listen to your mentor, Oliver is right after all.” He then launched himself at the girl, with his sword raised ready to strike her down._

Rory sat up in her bed quickly and looked around frantically. Her breathing was uneven and her mouth was dry, the usual side effect of her nightmares. It had been a year and a half since that night and Rory still had it ringing through her head when she slept.

Running a hand through her loose hair, Rory got to her feet and slid into her slippers. She walked over to her bedpost and grabbed the robe that hung there for her. Wrapping herself in it, she began to feel her heart rate slow and relaxed into the soft fabric.

Letting out a shaky breath, Rory left her room and quietly made her way down to the kitchen hoping not to disturb anyone who could be sleeping. She had been living with Bruce for almost a week now and she was still not cleared for patrol with him and the others. He told her that he had one more test for her and then she would be allowed out, but until then she was to enjoy the peaceful nights she got.

Her feet padded quietly through the halls, knowing the way down to the kitchen. Her nightmares had been a reoccurring experience the last few days because she couldn’t work herself into exhaustion. She knew that it wasn’t healthy, but not sleeping wasn’t healthy either. Turning a corner, she saw a tall figure and quickly darted back behind the wall again.

“I know you’re there,” Jason called.

With a sigh of defeat, she walked out and stood in the hall where he could see her. “What the hell are you doing up princess?” she asked, a smirk to her tone.

Jason shook his head and let out a chuckle. “You’re not letting that go anytime soon are you?” he asked.

Rory shook her head as she walked closer. “No not really, but you deserve it.”

“Besides, shouldn’t I be asking why you are up? You aren’t cleared for patrol still so it’s not because of that. Unless you went behind Bruce’s back, in which case I applaud you.” Jason said, leaning against the wall.

“I just wanted some milk, that’s all,” she said and kept walking to the kitchen not stopping to talk much more.

Jason saw the look on her face and if anyone could recognize it, it would be him for he was up for the same reason she was. He pushed himself off the wall and followed her down to the kitchen where he found her drinking milk out of a glass.

“You know when I have trouble sleeping I warm the milk. It helps put you to sleep,” he said, grabbing a glass for himself before filling it.

“How did you know that I was having trouble sleeping?” she asked, peeking over her milk.

“Because I have the same problem, you don’t die and come back without something to show for it,” he explained.

Rory almost choked on her milk, did she just hear him right? Jason died and came back to life? How the hell was that even possible?

Jason could practically hear the gears turning in her head. “It’s a long story, but yeah. It’s true.” he put his cup in the microwave and looked at her, “want to try it warmed?”

Rory looked at him, then at her cup. What’s the worst that happens? It tastes bad? She shrugged and handed him the cup, pulling her robe tighter around herself and pushed herself to sit on the counter.

Jason put her cup next to his and heated them for only a few seconds. He then put a little bit of cinnamon on the top and handed it back to her. “Here, try it.”

Rory gave the milk, and Jason a skeptical glance before taking a sip. The milk itself was rich and warm, and the cinnamon made it taste just that much better almost similar to eggnog but without the eggs.

Jason could see the surprise on her face and laughed. “Told you it was good, now do you want to talk about whatever woke you?” he asked.

Rory took another sip before putting her cup down. “It was just another nightmare, nothing to worry about.” she then took another sip, letting the white liquid coat her dry throat.

Jason was never one to care about people, but he cared for Tim (most of the time at least) and Tim cared for her so he thought he should try. “What do you mean another? Have they been frequent?”

Rory gave him another shrug, “They come and they go, normally when I go on a break like I am through this week is when they get bad again. I can’t work myself to the point I pass out and I’m not going downstairs because Barbara and Alfred are down there and they would just make a fuss and then they would tell Bruce and I don’t need to burden him more.”

Jason drank more of his own milk as he listened, this girl was literally a female Tim, wasn’t she? She was incredibly smart, not that he would compliment Tim or anyone for that matter, and she worked herself just as hard as he did. What was it with these kids and working themselves to death.

“You are right, Alfred and Babs would make a fuss but that’s because they care about you. But I know that if you asked, they would not mention it to Bruce,” he said, leaning against the counter next to where she was sitting. Jason knew this because they kept things secret for him that he wasn’t ready to tell.

“How could they care for me already? I barely know them. Tim is the only one I know, but even then it’s been 13 years. He could be totally different.” she drank more of her milk, starting to feel drowsy.

“They care because that’s who they are, and as for Tim don’t worry so much. I doubt he has changed that much in the last 13 years. Once a nerd, always a nerd.” he chuckled, finishing his milk feeling the effects too.

Rory laughed at his comment, “You sound like my best friend from back home. He always says that to me when I am working too hard for his liking, which is more than 6 hours a day.”

“My best friend says it too, he’s supposed to come by next week. Maybe you’ll get to meet him then,” he said and looked at Rory, he could see that she was about to fall asleep. “Come on kiddo, let’s get you to bed.” He then picked her up and carried her to her room.

She was surprisingly heavy for a girl her size, but after she kicked his ass the other day he figured it was from the muscle on her body. Carefully he laid her down and covered her up, before walking out of the room quietly and shut the door with a soft click.

Turning around, he almost jumped out of his skin. There stood both Dick and Tim, staring at him both still in their gear but no mask.

“Jay, what the hell are you doing in Rory’s room?” Tim asked, crossing his arms a hint of jealousy to his voice.

Jason picked up on it immediately, and so did Dick. “Relax babybird, she fell asleep in the kitchen. Probably would have given Alfred a heart attack if he found her passed out on the counter.”

“Why were you two in the kitchen? You know it’s closed for everyone but Alfred during the night.” Dick asked, tilting his head.

“She just had trouble sleeping is all, and I wasn’t tired so I followed. Gave her some milk, she passed out.” he shrugged.

“Did you drug my best friend?!” Tim asked incredulously.

Jason snorted at his question, “No, I did not drug your best friend Timbo. I gave her warm milk, it works when I can’t sleep.” he yawned, “Speaking of which, good night fellas.” and with that, he walked away.

Tim and Dick watched him walk away with confused looks on their faces. What the hell did they just witness? Jason would never help out a person like that unless he cared for them, but the second you mention to Jay that he was starting to care it was time for you to run before he caught you. So what was the reason he suddenly cared for Rory?

The two boys looked at each other and shrugged. Dick ruffled Tim’s hair before heading towards his own room. “Night Tim, don’t stay up too late okay?” he asked.

Tim flattened his hair the best he could, “You know I can’t promise that.” he said with a laugh.

Dick waved his hand and disappeared behind his door, turning in for the night. Tim walked to his room that was across from Rory’s and shut the door. Patrol had been brutal that night, not only was Penguin active but so was Ivy and Harley Quinn. To Tim, it had seemed as if they were all coordinated. Ivy and Harley made sense, they were best friends but how did the Penguin fit into the equation?

Slipping out of his suit, Tim changed into a pair of sweat and a shirt with some math pun on the front. He grabbed his thermos full of coffee from earlier that morning and took a sip, surprisingly it was still warm. Plopping into his chair he opened his computer and began to work, trying to find the connection between the three villains they had encountered that night.

Hours had passed and the sun was shining through Rory’s window. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, noticing that she was in her bed. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was her talk with Jason down in the kitchen, she must have fallen asleep and he carried her to bed. Making a mental note to thank him, she got up and got dressed for the day consisting of jeans and a pop-culture shirt that had to do with Star Wars.

She was in the middle of brushing her teeth when there was a knock on the door. Rory yelled for them to come in the best she could with a mouth full of toothpaste and spat it out. When she left the bathroom, she saw that Damian was there waiting for her. “Hey, Dami, what’s up?”

“Father told me to remind you that your final test will be tonight, he had to go to the office to check on things and will be gone the whole day,” he said, and without another word, he walked out.

Rory shrugged her shoulders, with Bruce gone it gave her a whole day to do whatever it was that she wanted. Slipping on a pair of shoes, Rory exited her room and left for the kitchen where she saw Stephanie, Barbara, Dick, Damian, and Jason all sitting at the table or counter with Alfred cooking what seemed to be waffles.

Her mouth salivating, she took the only open seat there was which happened to be next to Jason. Plopping a few waffles onto her plate, she put butter and syrup on the top. “Thanks for the breakfast Alfred.” she smiled as she took a bite.

Alfred gave her a smile, “Of course Miss Aurora, Master Oliver did mention in passing that you loved waffles so I decided to make them today.” Alfred was too good for this world.

Stephanie and Barbara were talking about their plans for the day and mentioned shopping or even a day trip somewhere when Dick cut in. “Why don’t we all go out and do something? Bruce isn’t home all day and we could show Rory around town. I’m sure somethings are different than the last time she was here.”

All eyes turned to Rory, who gave a shrug. “I don’t see why not, a day out was what I was thinking of doing anyway. Let’s do it.” she smiled, eating more waffles.

There was a murmur of agreement and everyone disappeared to their own rooms to prepare something for the day, leaving just Jason and Rory. Taking this as her chance, she looked up at him. “Hey, Jay?”

He let out a hm sound as he shoved more food into his mouth.

“Thanks for helping me last night, the milk really did help,” she said quietly, not wanting to be overheard.

Jason swallowed his food and looked down at her, “Of course, princess. You know, if those nightmares get worse you can come and find me.” he offered, shoving more food into his mouth.

Rory nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.” and kept eating. Unknown to them, Tim had finally decided to join for breakfast and saw their whole interaction. Nightmares would explain why Jason was so willing to help someone, everyone in the house suffered from them no one more than Jason though. What he had been through was traumatic, to say the least.

Deciding to make himself known, Tim went straight for the coffee pot and began to refill his thermos that he emptied through the night. “Hey Timmers, is that the thermos from yesterday?” Jason asked, his mouth full of food.

Tim shook his head. “No Jason, this thermos was from three days ago to be exact. I just keep refilling it.”

Rory looked at him with wide eyes, “How much coffee do you drink Drake?”

“I don’t know, how much oxygen do you breathe Son- uh Queen.” he countered, almost slipping up and calling her Sonnet.

Rory rolled her eyes, “You know, you can call me Sonnet. Damian does and it doesn’t bother me.” she explained. Rory knew the reason for Tim’s reluctance, he had known her parents personally and he didn’t want to cross any lines with her when their friendship was still trying to catch up with the 13 years they were apart.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to Michael and Clara?” he took the open seat next to Rory and drank his coffee.

“Who’s Michael and Clara?” Jason asked, looking between the two young adults.

“Michael and Clara were my parents. My mom was a prima ballerina and my dad worked with Tim’s, it’s how we met. His parents would drop him at our place more often than not, and my parents didn’t mind.” Rory explained.

“Sonnet Hall was like a second home, you know before the whole Bat cave thing.” Tim said, “Remember all the trouble we got into?”

Rory laughed. “Yeah, we were your average trouble makers as kids. My parents couldn’t find us for a few hours, not thinking to look in the bathroom but the long trail of mud from the back door to the upstairs bathroom gave them a hint.”

Jason raised an eyebrow at them. “You guys took a bath or something?”

“Not exactly. It was a bath, yes, but it was a mud bath,” she said.

At her words Jason exploded into laughter, he could see it in his mind’s eye. A tiny Tim and Rory covered in mud. “What did you two do, carry it inside with your shoes?”

“No, we grabbed buckets and carried them up to the tub in the bathroom and filled it with mud. My mother and the poor maid almost had a heart attack when they saw us. That was the last time we were left unattended.” Rory laughed, wiping a loose tear from her eye.

It had been a long time since Rory had thought about that day, it was one she remembered well. Of course, there had been other times like this with Tim, but this was her favorite one. Since her parents died, Rory tried not to let her thoughts linger on them because it hurt too much.

“Hey, you alright Rory?” Tim asked, noticing the tear.

She sniffed and gave him a nod, “It’s just been a long time since I thought about them. They died in an attack four years after we moved there.”

“Do you know who did it?” Jason asked, finishing his food. Rory shook her head, she knew who was responsible but she didn’t want them to know. According to Oliver, Bruce and them haven’t had good encounters with him and she didn’t want to start something.

“Well, maybe it’s something we could look into you know? Try to give you some closure.” Tim said, placing a hand on her back. “You aren’t going to flip me over your shoulder for this are you?”

Rory laughed at his comment. “No, Timmy. Just try not to surprise me.” She ran a hand through her hair, it had gotten so long she was thinking of cutting it but never got around to it.

“Wait, so if you left when you were seven, that would mean that you were eleven when Oliver adopted you?” He asked. Rory nodded.

“Yeah, he found me in the wreckage and took me to the Arrow Cave. After a year of training, I managed to convince him to take me on patrol if I promised to listen and do what he says. As I got older, he slowly gave me more free reign until I hit eighteen and retired as Arrowette and became my own hero. she said.

Tim and Jason both knew what that was like, but they became their own persona for different reasons. Tim, because when they thought Bruce to be dead Dick had taken the mantle of Batman and made Damian Robin and not him. It hurt him, but it gave Tim the chance to grow into his own hero and honor his older brother with the title of Red Robin. Jason was another story completely, he was killed and brought back to life and that made him a completely different person than he used to be. He became the Red Hood because he wanted to stop crime in his own way and to mock the Joker for what he did to him.

"Well if it’s worth it, I think you were a great Arrowette.” Tim smiled at his friend. Having this talk, even if it was with Jason involved helped him see that Rory was still his Rory and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Rory headed for the stairs and began to drag the shopping bags up them towards her room. The boys thought it would be a good idea to let her go to a few stores alone with Babs and Steph, and needless to say that they were surprised to see how many bags they were carrying when they all met up.

Their first stop had been a simple clothing store, and they took a look around. Stephanie did not stop trying to make Rory try on clothes the entire time, and one thing led to another and all three girls were walking out with three bags each from that one store.

Rory eyed a dance store but didn’t want to bring attention to the fact that Rory could be a professional ballerina if she wanted to but that would mean leaving the crime-fighting world behind and she wasn’t ready to do that yet. Maybe she could ask Alfred or Bruce to set up a dance area for her like Oliver had while she was at the Arrow Cave.

The amount of bags each girl had nearly tripled, at least and now they had to lug it up to their room. Rory was about halfway up when she heard a voice behind her. “Having a tough time there, songbird?”

Rory blew the hair out of her face and turned her head to look back at Tim who was standing there giving her a cocky smirk. When did this boy turn into a cocky pain in the ass?

“No dragon boy, I drag huge bags upstairs for fun. Didn’t you know this?” she said, narrowing her eyes with a mischievous look. “What are you going to do? Call the bag dragging police, or worse the Batman?” she taunted.

Tim watched her grin spread across her face and it made his stomach flutter. He had always thought that when she smiled, it brought her best side out even if it was a grin. “No, I’ll just drag you up the stairs myself.”

Rory’s eyes turned skeptical. “Drake, I swear to all things good and holy that if you pick me up-”

Before she even finished her sentence, Tim picked her up over his shoulder and then grabbed her bags with his hands. Rory let out a scream of protest and tried to wiggle off of him. “Timothy Jackson Drake! You better put me the fuck down or I will maim you!” she shouted.

“No can do Aurora James Sonnet-Queen, I told you what would happen. Now quit moving or you’ll send us both down the stairs and that won’t be fun to explain to Bruce and Alfred. Letting out a huff, Rory stilled her movements and crossed her arms.

"I’m going to get you when you least expect it, dragon boy. Watch your back.”

Tim laughed at her threat, “I doubt you can scare me worse than Damian does, and even then he doesn’t scare me much anymore.”

Unknown to them, Rory’s scream drew the attention of others in the manor. Dick, Jason, and Alfred watched as Tim carried Rory and the bags up. “Did you know he could do that?” Dick asked his younger brother.

Jason shrugged, “Do you not remember when he knocked Cobblepott out cold with one hit? The kid can pack a punch, so this doesn’t surprise me.”

Rory looked down and saw the three of them there watching her. “Take a picture boys it’ll last longer,” she yelled down to them. As soon as those words left her mouth, both Dick and Jason took out their phones and took a picture while Rory flipped them off with both hands.

“Fuck you guys. Tim, your brothers are taking a picture,” she complained.

“Well, you did tell them to. What else do you expect from them?” Tim laughed and continued up the stairs with Rory still on his shoulder. He walked down the extensive hallways and stopped outside Rory’s room.

“Now, are you going to be good or do I have to carry you around more?” Tim asked, setting the bags down.

“I don’t know, are you going to keep being an asshole?” she countered

“I’ll take that as a no.” Tim opened her door and put the bags in before turning and leaving the room with Rory still on his shoulder. He carried her back down the stairs past Stephanie who gave them both an odd look, while Rory looked murderous.

“Bruce needs us down in the cave anyway, so hold on tight,” Tim said, heading towards the study and opened the door.

“Oh, and what am I supposed to hold onto big guy?” she snapped, “The air?”

Tim laughed “Obviously, I meant for you to hold onto me so I don’t drop you. Dropping you here would hurt a lot more than usual, so again try not to wiggle too much.”

“Jokes on you dragon boy, I don’t have to walk down all these steps so you are saving me a trip down,” she said and crossed her arms with a triumphant smirk. Tim just simply rolled his eyes and kept walking. It didn’t take the two of them long, and they noticed that everyone but Stephanie was already in the cave and was beginning to suit up.

“Nice view Rory,” Jason smirked, gesturing to her ass as he wiped the dirt and grime off his red helmet.

“Timothy, permission to murder?” It was then Tim finally set her down, taking that as his answer she whirled on Jason and narrowed her eyes at him.

Jason sat there with a raised brow, watching the two of them. “You really think you could kill me, princess?” he taunted.

“Why don’t we test that?” she frowned and made a move towards him. The look on Jason’s face didn’t waver except his eyes betrayed him slightly. Was she actually going to hurt him? Rory didn’t get far before Dick wrapped his arms around her and directed her towards the display case that held her suit and weapons.

“Big man said to get suited up, your final test is with us,” he said. Rory ignored his words and tried to go around him but Dick caught her again and turned her once more. “Now Rory, do I have to carry you there too?” he teased.

Rory’s face looked as if she was about to explode. “You ever pick me up without my permission Grayson, I will shove your escrima sticks so far up your ass that your mouth will glow.” she threatened.

“Aw, come on. Now that’s just rude. Besides, I didn’t see you do anything to Timmy.” he said crossing his arms.

“That’s because I’m going to strike the thing he loves most, don’t think he is off the hook.” she turned on her heel and began to suit up into her Gray Arrow suit, tying up the strings on her chest piece and slipping her boots on. She was in the process of securing her hair in her hood when Bruce arrived, half-dressed in his suit missing the cowl and the cape.

“Alright, so Rory is going out with us tonight. This is her final test to see if she can handle the criminals here, they are much different than they are in Star City so she will be paired with Tim tonight.” He explained.

Rory turned to look at Tim who was securing the yellow belts across his chest as he gave Bruce a nod. “Rory is your responsibility Tim, do not let me down.”

With her hair secured, Rory pulled up her hood and looked at Bruce. “Did Oliver tell you to make sure I don’t hit them too hard?”

Bruce looked her over before giving her a nod. “I’m assuming you know why he relayed that to me?”

All eyes were trained on Rory, who responded with a nod. “Yeah, he wasn’t very happy about it either.”

“What did you do?” Tim asked, securing his cape to his shoulders.

“I put three rapists in a coma a few days before I arrived here,” she explained, checking her bow not sounding the least bit remorseful. “I’ll tell you the same I told Oliver. They are lucky that I did not castrate them and let them bleed out.”

Jason and Dick both winced noticeably and covered their groins. “They may have deserved it, but that isn’t your decision to make Rory,” Tim said.

Rory let out a sigh and threw her head back. “Yes, I know that. When I noticed what they were doing to that poor boy, I was pissed. He’s going to be scarred for life, the least I could do was scar them back.”

Tim watched Rory as she spoke and it was clear to him that whatever happened after she retired as Arrowette really changed her. Connor and a few of his friends had worked with her while she was Arrowette and they always said how she was so merciful and graceful. She had always given them a second chance to fix what they did before apprehending the criminal and it inspired them to be better heroes.

Gray Arrow was darker, almost tainted with the rage and darkness of past trauma. She didn’t give second chances, she wasn’t merciful anymore and her confession proved that to him.

“Rory, if you break protocol I will have to ban you from patrol, depending on how you break it is how long you are banned. Do you understand?” Bruce asked, his eyes trained on Rory. She gave him a nod.

“Don’t worry bats, isn’t that why I’m here?” she put on her mask and grabbed her bow and quiver. Attaching her utility belt, she was ready to go. The others put on their masks and made their way to their vehicles, Oliver had also sent her black bike to the Bat cave as well and Rory was more excited than ever to get back out there and fight crime.

Tim tapped her shoulder and held out a com piece. “Put this in, it links you to everyone and Oracle. Also, no names on the field. That’s rule number one.”

Rory took the piece and put it in her ear. “Got it chief. Where do we head first?”

“I was going to check out Amusement Mile. The case I’m working on involves Harley Quinn and that’s where she tends to hang out after hours. I’ll give you more once we get there.” Tim then pulled his cowl up and over his head and walked to his bike. Rory swung her leg over hers and revved it up, making a wide smile spread across her face.

Red Robin looked over at her and she gave a thumbs up. The Batmobile, Nightwing, and Red Hood were all ready to go and sped out of the cave with Red Robin and Gray Arrow right behind them.

As they drove, the car and two bikes turned left to head towards town but Red Robin and Gray Arrow made a right for Amusement Mile. They rode for several minutes before she heard his voice in her head.

_“We’re making a left here and leaving the bikes in a cave behind the waterfall.”_

_“Copy that.”_ Gray Arrow followed as Red Robin took a left and drove into the same waterfall that she had seen out her balcony the first day she arrived. Good to know where they were.

Turning off the bikes, Gray Arrow and Red Robin stepped off of them and exited the cave. Red Robin grappled to the top with his gun, Gray Arrow using a grapple arrow to get her up there. They landed with a soft thud and looked around the dark forest. It seemed that no one was around, but when you’re in the crime-fighting business you could never be too careful.

“How well can you climb trees Arrow?” he asked, looking at the wrist projector.

“Really Red? I was born to climb trees.” she grinned and began to haul herself into the higher branches of the tree securing herself on a stronger one.

The two of them traversed across the trees and arrived on the outskirts of Amusement Mile like Red Robin has presumed there was activity in the park even though it was closed. “We need to get closer, any ideas?” he asked.

“Well, the obvious is go through the front gate but we want to be sneaky yeah?” she asked, looking at her partner for the day. Red Robin gave her a nod.

“Well, I don’t know the area as well as you do. Are there any schematics for the park, secret tunnels, faculty entrances?” she asked, adjusting her position on the branch.

“We’ll see.” Red Robin pressed the com in his ear “Hey Oracle, can you try and dig up any schematics to Amusement Mile? Arrow and I are looking to get in but don’t want to be caught.”

 _“I already pulled them up, I was tasked to keeping Arrow’s com on during the entire night so I heard her question,”_ Oracle replied.

“Gee, thanks Bats,” Arrow mumbled.

_“It’s only for tonight, once you pass the test you’ll be like the rest of us. Now for those schematics you were asking for, you know how Disneyland has costumed characters, but you never see them cross the park? That’s because there are multiple paths under the rides and underground so they don’t get swarmed by guests before they can arrive at their station. Amusement Mile has the same thing, their costumed characters use them through the day but at night they are empty.”_

“What are the odds that Harley Quinn is smart enough to use those tunnels?” Arrow asked, looking at the park again.

_“Honestly, it’s fifty-fifty. Harley has her moments but you’ll never know when they are. The closest entrance is right inside the faculty gate near the rear. I can hack into the cameras and try and see if she is down there or not, but from what I am seeing she is just on the surface using the funhouse as a base.”_

Gray Arrow and Red Robin gave each other a look and nodded. “Alright, thanks Oracle. We’ll see what’s down there. Keep us updated.” Red Robin said and ended the conversation.

“Well, the good news is that she will always be listening to my end so if we get into a pickle we’ll be okay,” Arrow said, Red Robin, smiling at her. The two of them dropped from the tree and quietly made their way around the gates of the park to the faculty entrance. From the looks of it, it was still locked from closing time so that meant Harley wasn’t using it.

Gray Arrow pulled out one of her gadgets and began to pick the lock, letting her and Red Robin in and quietly shut the door behind them. “Where did she say the tunnel entrance was?” Red Robin asked.

“Right inside the door.” Taking a look around, Gray Arrow saw a few carnival games along with what looked to be a storage shed. “What’s the bet that it’s the storage shed? Hidden in plain sight so kids don’t go looking for Creepy the Clown,” she asked.

Red Robin walked over and opened the door and saw a staircase leading down. “Nice eye, guessing you spend a lot of time hiding from clowns?” he teased.

“Only the creepy ones, which seems to be the only kind you have here Red,” she remarked and started down the stairs quietly.

The tunnels were eerily quiet, and if Oracle hadn’t warned them by now she either didn’t get the footage or they were okay. Gray Arrow wrinkled her nose, the tunnels smelled of rotten egg salad sandwiches that were left to rot. “What is that smell?”

“Repulsive, that’s what it is.” Red Robin replied. “Honestly, I hope it’s not what I’m thinking.”

“What are you thinking it is?” Gray Arrow asked, plugging her nose and she walked deeper into the smell.

“You know how the Joker fell into a vat of toxic waste and then pushed Harley Quinn into the same toxic waste?” he asked, looking over at her as she nodded.

“Well, I investigated a crime related to that same stuff and it smelled just like this. I really hope someone just left moldy sandwiches down here instead.”

Arrow squinted her eyes, the tunnels had terrible lighting, and it was slightly foggy from all the old dust particles in the air that they were now kicking up with their steps. “Where do you suggest we get out?”

“The next hatch should bring us right under the roller coaster, which is across from the funhouse. That will give us the vantage point we need.” The two of them stopped under the hatch and Red Robin began to open it. He opened the door and locked his fingers together. “I’ll boost you up,” he said

Gray Arrow gave him a nod and stepped on his hands as he boosted her up out of the smelly tunnels. Once she was out, Gray Arrow reached a hand down to pull him up. Quietly, he shut the hatch behind him and they crept under the rollercoaster before grappling up to a higher point where they wouldn’t be seen.

Red Robin had been right, Harley Quinn was indeed there and she had men transporting large kegs of a liquid into the funhouse where they were storing it under the building. “Well, your sense of smell was right. They are probably trying to stash the toxic waste under the funhouse, but why?” Gray Arrow asked.

Red Robin gave her a shrug. “I have no idea, but whatever it is, it won’t be good,” he replied. The two of them watched as thugs dressed as clowns moved the kegs and barrels into the building with Harley barking orders at them.

“Hurry up, you lousy ass clowns! Mistah J will not be pleased if he finds out that you ain’t doin’ what I want!” Harley’s squeaky voice sounded. Was the Joker involved with this, or was he just lending her men?

“We should get a closer look, come on.” Red Robin said as he was about to get up.

“The hell you is bat brain.” a deep voice sounded from behind them. Red Robin and Gray Arrow turned to see several Joker thugs pointing various guns and weapons at them. Turning her gaze back to where Harley was, Arrow noticed that she too and her thugs were gone.

“Well if it isn’t bird brain numbah three. How ya doin’ sweetie?” Harley asked from behind the thugs, they parted and let her through. ‘Who’s the bitch, ya girl?“

Gray Arrow’s hands tightened into fists.

_"Arrow, I am sending Hood to your location. I wasn’t able to warn you in the tunnels, but Harley knew you were there. Just make sure you two hang on until she gets there.”_

Gray Arrow relaxed a little at Oracle’s words, knowing the Red Hood was on his way made her feel better but not by much. “Get them,” Harley ordered. Several thugs grabbed onto Gray Arrow and Red Robin, holding them down on their knees unable to move.

Harley then swung her two weapons around in her hands, a comically large hammer and a bat with red stains on it.

“Now, who am I goin’ to whack first?” she asked, aiming the bat at Robin’s head “The bird,” she then turned to Gray Arrow holding the hammer in front of her face. “Or the bitch?”

“I vote neither!”


	7. Chapter Six

“I vote neither!”

Grey Arrow’s head snapped up, she knew that voice anywhere. A series of red arrows landed themselves in the arms of the thugs holding Red Robin and herself down and she was surprised to see a blast of ice knock Harley Quinn down. Quickly getting to her feet she turned and saw Arsenal and Freezewire.

“Geez Grey, you can’t go one night without getting into trouble?” Arsenal laughed, landing on the ground next to her. “I thought I taught you better.”

Freezewire slid down next to them on a slide of ice. “See you met the bats and the batshit crazies.” Freeze grinned.

“You know what? Fuck both of you.” she huffed and made sure Red Robin was okay.

“You already did sweetheart.” Freeze said under his breath, but loud enough that Arsenal, Grey Arrow, and Red Robin all heard it.

“Acquaintances of yours Arrow?” he asked, nodded to the two guys that arrived. Grey Arrow’s face was turning red, of course, the two people who showed up to help was Arsenal and Freezewire.

“More like pains in my ass, let’s finish this and get this dumb broad back to Arkham.” Gray Arrow said, and pulled her bow off of her back, and aimed it at the thugs who were attacking. She knew that there was a no-kill rule and it was her mission to get out of this without killing anyone or brutally maiming them either.

Red Robin and Grey Arrow’s chances of survival went up when Arsenal and Freezewire showed up and they were going to use that to their advantage. Lining up three arrows on her bow, Gray Arrow shot three men in the shoulder. The thugs began to gang up on them, Grey Arrow hit thugs left and right with her bow and shot them in legs, shoulders, and other non-lethal places to get them down for the count.

To her left was Red Robin, using his bo staff he was hitting thugs left and right keeping them from getting too close to him. Grey Arrow could see his cape waving in the wind with him as he hit the men.

To her right was Arsenal, he was trained much like she was and they worked well together. They stood back to back and hit anyone who got too close as Arsenal shot explosive arrows to send them running. Grey Arrow had what she liked to call concussive arrows. Much like Black Canary, these emitted a loud high pitched screaming when they hit contact. Not enough to kill, but enough to make them cringe.

Finally beside Arsenal was Freezewire. Freeze was a metahuman and had his transformation when STAR Labs exploded in Central City granting him the ability to control ice. He had worked with Grey Arrow multiple times and were really close. Freeze was shooting ice at the thugs and trapping them in small glaciers of ice.

Trying to look over the crowd, Grey Arrow saw Harley Quinn skating away with several thugs behind her. “Freeze, Arsenal! Round up this bunch, Red and I are going after Harley!” she called. Red Robi used his staff to jump over the thugs while Grey arrow ran across their shoulders. Rolling onto the floor, the two of them took off after Harley Quinn. If she got to her car, they were going to lose her and they couldn’t. Not when Red Robin’s case rested on this.

Aiming an arrow, she shot one at the skate Harley was wearing and she toppled to the floor. “Ow! What the fuck, these are brand new skates you bitch!” she yelled. The thugs around Harley stopped and went after Red Robin and Grey Arrow, who fought them with all they had.

Gunshots were being heard from all over and Grey Arrow didn’t think twice about it. Her focus was on stopping Harley Quinn from escaping. Managing to take down her three goons, she charged after Harley who swung her hammer at her. Dropping to her knees, she slid under the hammer and then sent a kick to the back of her knees making her fall again.

“You dumb broad, I should just kill you.” Harley glared, holding tight to her hammer with the baseball bat discarded to the floor for the time being.

“Didn’t you forget, Batman has a no-killing rule?"Grey Arrow grinned and began to fight her. Harley was a very capable fighter and gave Grey Arrow a run for her money. One slip up and that could be it for Grey Arrow. With every punch she threw, Harley blocked and it pissed her off.

Rolling out of the fistfight, Grey Arrow grabbed the bat lying on the floor and took out Harley’s knee with it. The clown princess fell to the floor with a cry of pain and gripped her leg. "You dumb bitch! You busted my knee, and now I can’t skate!”

“Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you tried to kill me.” Grey Arrow walked over and secured Harley in some rope and saw that Arsenal and Freezewire had finished with their group of thugs, Red Robin going on the last two.

Quickly, Grey Arrow ran over and jumped on the back of one of them and used her weight to flip them to the floor and knocked him out, Red Robin knocking out the final thug.

She got to her feet and looked around assessing the damage, either every thug was unconscious or frozen in place. The four of them looked at each other and let out a laugh. “Thanks for being here you two, I don’t think we would have made it considering how long it’s taking back up to get here.”

As soon as she said that, a figure landed next to Red Robin.

“Arsenal, Freeze? What the hell are you two doing here?” Red Hood asked.

“Well, we were in the city and saw our favorite archer and bird boy having a tough time.” Freeze said. “Speaking of which, you two good?”

Red Robin gave him a nod. “Yeah, I think we scathed out okay. What about you Grey?” He turned to look at Grey Arrow and his face fell. The others noticed the look on his face, turned their attention to Grey Arrow, and ran over immediately.

“What’s the matter guys?” she asked, the world was starting to spin. Putting a hand on her stomach she noticed that it was wet and sticky. Looking down, she saw that during the fight she was shot twice in the stomach.

With the shock setting in, she collapsed to the floor Red Robin managing to catch her before she hit the floor. “Hood, where’s your bike?” he demanded.

“Just outside the gate, you three take care of Quinn and the thugs and I’ll get her back to base.” Red Hood said and picked Grey Arrow up, running to get to his bike. Grey Arrow groaned from all the movement and held her wounds tighter.

“Just hang on princess.” He set her on the bike and got on himself and connected his com to Oracle.

“Oracle, get the medical supplies ready. Grey Arrow was shot, I’m bringing her in. Also, alert Batman so he is informed. Red Robin is cleaning up Amusement Mile.” he said quickly and drove off.

_“Delphi is setting it up now, you aren’t far from our location so be quick. We have no idea how long she has been bleeding like this.”_

“Noted, I’ll be there soon,” he said and sped up faster, holding a grey Rory to his chest as he tried to keep her upright on his bike. “I swear princess, you bleed out on me I will bring you back just so I can kick your ass.”

He pulled into the cave and threw off his helmet, Alfred running over to help Jason get Rory to a bed. “She’s going to need blood and stitches. It looks as if the bullets are still in there. Master Jason, get me the scissors.”

Jason did as he was told and gave them to Alfred, who gave Rory a remorseful look. “I am deeply sorry about this Miss Aurora,” he said and undid her top as quickly as he could and cut her tank top off.

Rory looked at Alfred and Jason’s face, they were starting to go blurry and she winced as she felt something move on her wound. While Alfred and Jason worked to save Rory, the rest of the team managed to make it back. Bruce pulled in and dove out of the Batmobile with Nightwing right behind him.

Nightwing, Batman, and Robin rushed over to see the damage done. “Master Jason, get her a dose of Morphine. She’s going to need it if I am to get the bullets out.” Alfred said. Jason nodded quickly and grabbed a syringe, filling it up with a dose of morphine.

Bruce had sent Damian upstairs to make sure that her room was good to go for when she was ready to be moved there. He and Dick had decided to stay and wait for Tim and the two stowaways to arrive.

Jason cleaned off Rory’s shoulder and looked to Alfred for confirmation, to which he nodded. Jason then stabbed Rory’s arm and injected the morphine into her body. “She can’t wait much longer for the morphine to kick in. I need to get those bullets out and close the wounds, Miss Aurora has lost too much blood already.”

“We’ll do whatever you need Alf,” Dick said.

“Well, someone will have to hold her down and someone will have to direct Master Tim when he arrives,” Alfred explained, cleaning the forceps. He gave Rory another sympathetic look, “I truly am sorry about this Miss Aurora.” he said and began to dig in her stomach for the bullets.

The pain she felt was agonizing, Rory was still slightly conscious and the morphine hadn’t set in completely. She let out a scream and arched off the table, Dick, and Jason quickly moving to hold her down. Rory could feel Alfred digging with the forceps, begging and pleading for him to stop because it hurt so much.

It was then Tim, Roy and Jesse decided to arrive; their blood turning cold hearing Rory scream. Quickly the three of them ran over. “Alred, please tell me she is going to make it.” Tim pleaded, his eyes full of tears.

“She will be alright Master Tim.” Alfred placed one bullet on the pan. “I need someone to get an IV in her and keep her hydrated while I get the last one out,” he instructed.

Tim quickly grabbed a bag of the medical water and attached it to a tube. Moving to her right side, he stood by Dick who was still struggling to hold her down but he felt her slowly weaken under his hold as the morphine began to take effect. Tim cleaned the inside of her arms and tied around her upper arm as he felt for a vein.

Managing to find one, he stuck the needle in wincing as he did it. Quickly he attached the IV and it began to drip, sending the water into her system. With the morphine finally reaching her body, Rory quit moving and fell unconscious making it easier for Alfred to dig for the final bullet. It wasn’t long before he let out a sigh of relief and dropped it into the pan.

Dick grabbed a towel and wiped the butler’s forehead for him. “Nice work Alfred.” he smiled.

Alfred let out a light chuckle. “Our work is not yet done Master Dick, she has lost a lot of blood and I still need to patch her up.”

“Let us take care of that Alfred,” Bruce said placing a hand on his shoulder. “Go get yourself cleaned up and see if Damian requires any assistance.” Alfred gave Bruce a thankful look and wiped his hands, leaving the Bat cave.

“I’ll patch her up, Dick get some blood bags ready for a transfusion,” he said looking to his oldest son. Dick nodded and went to find blood bags, Bruce then looked at Tim. He could see that the scene was troubling him, it always troubled him when one of them was hurt and this time he was with Rory as it happened and no one noticed.

“Jason, take Tim and the others upstairs and get cleaned up. Dick and I can take care of her.”

Jason gave Bruce a nod and led Tim, Roy, and Jesse up the stairs to the manor as Dick returned with two bags of blood to start with. Bruce began to stitch Rory up and Dick replaced the IV with the blood bags and let out a sigh as he collapsed in the chair.

It didn’t take long for Bruce to stitch Rory up, and both he and Dick began to bandage her stomach. Stephanie came down the stairs with some clothes, Tim at her side. “How is she Bruce?” she asked.

“She’s going to be okay.”

“We brought down clothes to change her into, I doubt she would be happy if we left her half-naked,” Tim said, trying to fight the smile on his face. Bruce and Dick nodded and left the cave to go clean themselves up. Stephanie and Tim walked closer and he let out a sigh of relief. He could see her breathing, the rise, and fall of her chest. Her skin was no longer a sickly grey, but back to it’s normal pale complexion with slightly pink tones to her cheeks.

Between the two of them, they managed to get Rory into some comfortable clothes. “Alfred said her room is ready. Can you disconnect the IV and carry it up so I can carry Rory?” Tim asked. Stephanie hid her smile the best she could and gave him a nod.

“Sure thing, Timbo.” It was clear to Stephanie that Tim clearly cared for Rory and as more than a friend, and she and Dick both had the feeling that Rory felt the same. Since she arrived the two of them had been nearly inseparable unless Jason was around. It astounded Steph how well Jason warmed up to Rory, but glad he did.

Stephanie did as she was told and grabbed the IV stand, and watched as Tim carefully picked up Rory and held her close against his chest carrying her up to her room. As they exited the study, they saw Roy, Jason, and Jesse all sitting in the chairs waiting for them.

The first to look up was Jesse. “How is she?”

“She’s okay, I’m taking her to her room so she can rest. I’ll be back down in a few.” Tim said and kept walking, he was still wearing his Red Robin suit and his cape swished as he walked up the stairs. Rory made a groaning noise and curled further into Tim’s chest making him blush a little. Carefully he opened her door and set her on the bed as gently as he could.

Steph walked behind him and set up the IV, giving the tube to Tim as he attached it back to the needle in her arm. As she left, Stephanie thought Tim was behind her and looked back to see Tim place a kiss on Rory’s forehead. Quickly she turned and kept walking, not wanting Tim to know that she saw.

Almost a full 24 hours had passed and Rory was still asleep. The amount of morphine Jason put into her would have knocked her out for about 12 hours, the rest was because her body was trying to recover. Every few hours someone, usually Tim, would come and check on her to make sure she was still breathing.

Hitting that 23-hour mark, Rory’s eyes fluttered open and she looked around taking notice that she was in her room. Was she dead? Moving to sit up, there was a sharp pain in her stomach. Nope, she was definitely still alive. Looking down, she lifted her top to see a large white bandage across her stomach.

“Well fuck. That’s going to scar,” she muttered to herself. Feeling an odd pain in her arm, she saw the IV attached to her. With a huff, she disconnected the IV and pulled the needle out of her arm. “Good luck getting that back in.”

Carefully she swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood on her feet. Rory had no idea how long she was out, but her legs were numb and she needed to move, and to add on to it she was also very hungry. Quietly, she wobbled to her door and opened it. No one was in sight so she took this as her chance to make a run for the kitchen, unaware of the time.

It took a while, but once Rory made it down the stairs walking was easier. Pushing the door of the kitchen open she came face to face with everyone who lived in the mansion and then some. Hearing the door open and shut, they all turned to see Rory standing there.

It took a few moments for them to process it but then there was a cry of “Twinkle Toes!” and Rory felt someone grab her from her side. Looking, she saw a familiar mop of red hair belonging to her best friend, Roy Harper.

“Ow! What the fuck Roy!” she yelled.

Quickly he put her down, “Shit, I forgot. You also get extra moody when you are injured.” he said ruffling her hair, a gesture only he and Oliver shared.

“I’m extra moody when someone decided to grab me around the waist, pushing into my wounds you idiot,” she said, trying to hide her smile. Rory had missed Roy, she didn’t get to see him before she left Star City and it had been months before then that she actually saw him.

“Geez Roy, I thought you knew this,” Jesse said from his seat next to Jason who was watching their interaction closely.

“Fuck you, Jess,” Roy said flipping him off.

“Name the time and place and I will.”

“Remind me again why it’s been so long since I’ve seen either of you? Oh yeah, because you two are insufferable when you’re together. Now shut up and get me some food before I literally bite your head off.” Rory snapped and sat on a chair carefully.

“Roy, you know Rory?” Tim asked, getting up and moving his chair over to her.

“Yeah, of course, I know her. We were both trained by Oliver, she’s like my little sister.” Roy explained, getting Rory a plate of whatever everyone was eating.

“Why are you two here? You guys weren’t supposed to show up for another week.” Jason asked, still watching Roy, Jesse, and Rory. They all seemed really familiar with each other and Jason was confused as to why.

“Well, we wanted to surprise twinkle toes over there. We were on our way when we saw those two get caught by Harley and her goons. So, naturally, we saved the day.” Roy explained. “Why? Did you not know this Jay?”

“Wait a minute, how do you know Jason?” Rory asked, taking the plate from Roy.

“How do I know-, Rory did you not pay attention at all when I talked about my missions with you?” he asked, his eyes going wide. “I’m pretty sure I have mentioned Jason before.”

“No, you have mentioned Jesse, Artemis, Bizarro, and Kori. Not once did you mention a Jason, but I remember a Jackson,” she said, shoving some pasta into her mouth.

At her words, Roy started to laugh. “Jackson, seriously! I said, Jason!” Roy cried.

Rory kept a skeptical look on her face, “No, I am sure you said Jackson Rod, not Jason Todd.” Everyone started laughing now, Jason looking mortified. Was this payback for assuming she was a boy when they met?

“No Rory, I said Jason. You just were not listening all that well, obviously.” he laughed and turned to Jason. “Sorry dude, but Jackson Rod is pretty funny.”

“You know what, at least she didn’t assume he was a girl,” Tim said, looking at Rory who had a smile on her face. Jesse started laughing, “Really Jay? You thought Rory Queen was a boy? I know for a fact most of us knew she was a girl. I mean, she has dated half of us.”

Tim spit out his coffee, the comment Jesse made the day before about her sleeping with them made sense now. He turned to look at Rory, who was looking at her pasta trying to ignore the rest of them.

“Rory, is that what he was talking about last night?” he asked.

“Oh, so you heard that?” she said quietly, trying to keep their conversation quiet. “That is only half true.”

“I’m guessing it wasn’t Roy.” he chuckled.

“Wait, this is the Rory that you dated for 2 years, Jess? That Rory is the same Rory Roy grew up with and the same Rory Kori had a short fling with!?” Jason cried clearly confused.

Rory, Jesse, and Roy all gave Jason a nod. “You thought they were all different people?” Roy asked his idiot of a best friend.

“Hey! In my defense the thing with Kori lasted like 2 weeks, Roy lasted 12 hours. Besides, I don’t see why who I have dated in the past and grew up with is a big issue. It’s not my fault you didn’t put two and two together Jackson.” Rory grinned and ate more pasta.

“What is all this commotion?” Alfred asked, walking into the kitchen. His eyes wandered the room until they landed on Rory. “Ah, Miss Aurora. Glad to see you have joined the living.”

“Good to be alive Alf, thanks for that by the way.” she smiled.

“You really should not be out of bed. Master Tim, once she is finished take Miss Aurora back up to her room.” Alfred ordered. Tim gave him a nod and looked at Rory who frowned.

“I hate being cooped up,” she muttered.

“I think you’ll be okay. I can hang out with you, better than these loudmouths here.” Tim chuckled quietly. The two of them ate quietly, listening to Jason bicker with his two friends about how much he may or may not have paid attention to.

Rory finished her food and carefully got up, Tim holding her arm to support her. “Come on, let’s go,” he whispered, Rory gave him a nod and the two of them quietly snuck out of the kitchen. She was able to walk the whole way until she got to the stairs. As she stood at the bottom of them, Tim gave her a look.

“What? Don’t want to climb the stairs?” he asked.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly comfortable coming down the steps. I doubt going up them will be any better.” she shrugged, and went to take a step up. Like she thought, pain shot through her stomach and she almost fell backward. She would have if Tim didn’t catch her and keep her upright.

“Would you prefer if I carried you up to them, free of charge?” he laughed, looking at his best friend who gave him a look.

“You just want an excuse to pick me up, don’t you dragon boy?”

“Not necessarily, I just don’t like to see you hurting songbird. If I can prevent it, I will. I should have prevented this.” he said and lifted her legs and carried her up the rest of the way.

“Tim, how could you have noticed? I didn’t even notice that I was shot.” Rory countered. Tim just gave her a shrug.

“Bruce said you were my responsibility, a responsibility I almost got killed because we didn’t think it through completely.” He made it to the top of the stairs and kept walking, with Rory still in his arms.

“To make sure that I didn’t break the rules, and unless getting shot counts for breaking the rules, then I am clear to patrol again. This is not going to be the last time I get hurt, and you can not blame yourself for it. I will beat you if you do, Timothy.” she said, her feet landing softly on the floor as Tim opened her door.

The two of them walked in and she carefully sat on her bed, turning her head and expecting Tim to have followed her in but he just stood there right inside the doorway. “You know you can come in right?” she laughed and patted the spot next to her on the bed.

Tim rolled his eyes playfully and shut the door and grabbed the remotes before sitting with her on the bed. “What do you want to watch?”

“My Fair Lady.” Of course, that was Rory’s favorite movie. How could Tim have forgotten all the times the two of them sat on her floor watching it on repeat. He had to admit, there was a certain appeal to the movie but he would never say that out loud and especially not in front of his brothers. The two of them laid back on the bed and he hit play.

About half an hour into the movie, Rory had gone quiet. He looked down and saw her asleep on his chest, gripping the front of his shirt in her hand. When did that happen, and how did he not notice? With a soft smile, he grabbed a spare blanket and covered them both up in and decided that a few hours of sleep was needed.

Everyone down in the kitchen was still laughing and picking on Jason two hours later when Damian noticed that both Tim and Rory were gone. “Hey, where did Drake and Sonnet go?”

At his words, everyone looked in the corner and went silent. The gremlin was right, they were both gone. How long ago did they leave? “I doubt they got far, Rory is having trouble walking,” Dick said and got up, letting his own curiosity get the better of him. Everyone filed out and began to look around the manor for the two missing young adults.

Stephanie, Damian, and Jesse all looked outside while Dick went down to the Bat cave. Jason and Roy decided to check their rooms. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if Rory wasn’t injured as bad. When they got to Tim’s room, they knocked and waited for an answer.

“You open it, I don’t want to interrupt if they are doing something.” Roy pushed his friend. Jason rolled his eyes.

“I really doubt they would be doing anything like that, let’s be honest here. I doubt Tim would try for that, he’s smarter than you buddy.” Jason pushed the door open and was surprised and relieved to see that his room was empty. Did he crawl into a hidey-hole and dragged Rory with him?

The two of them walked to Rory’s room and stopped outside the door, they could hear faint noises coming from inside so someone was obviously inside. Giving a slight knock, Jason crept the door open. What he saw inside shocked him even more.

There on the bed was Tim and Rory, Rory was asleep on Tim’s chest with her arm and leg draped across his body. Tim was also asleep with his arm around her shoulders keeping her close while _My Fair Lady_ played on the TV.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit of filler, but I thought it was fun to write! Hope you enjoy it!

As Rory healed, she was forced to stay out of the action. Every night she would attempt to put on her suit and every night she would be derailed. It had been a week and Alfred finally gave in on letting her out of bed rest, not that she minded it all that much with Tim joining her every day.

He would lead her out on short walks, make sure her wound was dressed properly, and let her fall asleep in his arms. Tim couldn’t ignore the feeling in his stomach he had every time he was around her, and it got worse every time she smiled at him, laughed, or even looked at him.

There was no way he had that kind of feelings for Rory, she was his best friend, and didn’t want to ruin their friendship. But he never felt as happy as he was whenever he was around her, sure she was a little cynical and hard to understand sometimes but it’s what made Rory, Rory, and Tim wouldn’t want to change her for the world.

Of course, all of their time spent together did not go unnoticed. Unknown to them, Dick Stephanie and now Roy and Jason were all conspiring against the two of them. Dick, Jason, and Stephanie knowing Tim as well as they did could tell that Tim was falling hard for Rory and according to Roy, this was as close as she got to someone. She never let anyone get close to her these days and it amazed Roy just how close they were getting.

So naturally, they organized a secret meeting with just the four of them. They met down in the Bat cave because Rory was officially banished from it because she wouldn’t listen to Bruce when he said no patrol. His last resort was calling Oliver and that was when she quit trying.

“So obviously, our little Timmy has a thing for Rory. What do you guys think we should do about this situation?” Dick asked, leaning against the wall.

“Well, I say we should convince him to take her out on a date,” Stephanie suggested. “I can try and give him suggestions without being suspicious.”

“No offense Steph, but you are one of the most suspicious people we know. Maybe that’s not the greatest idea.” Jason interjected. “Besides, Rory is still on house arrest and she can’t go anywhere. We need to get them to admit they have feelings, maybe not to each other but to one of us.” Roy finished.

“They have a point, so maybe just ease them into the idea of possibly liking the other,” Dick said and pushed himself off the wall. “Now, I need to ready for patrol. It’s Jason’s night off so he’s going to be keeping an eye on Rory and maybe do some digging. Of course, you and Jess are welcome to join us like usual.”

Roy grinned, “Count us in Grayson.”

Hours later, everyone was out on patrol with Barbara and Alfred down in the Bat cave while Rory was with Jason sat in the home theater. They were watching one of the many versions of _Romeo and Juliet,_ Rory had no idea that Jason was a major literature buff and loved to read.

“Why are we watching this sappy romantic tragedy again?” she asked, leaning back in her seat as she ate low sodium popcorn. Alfred being Alfred, made sure that Rory got the food and nutrients she needs and also that she didn’t eat anything too hard on her stomach because she was still on the mend.

“Because I wanted to. After watching My Fair Lady three times with you, I had ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ stuck in my head.” he explained, eating some of his popcorn. Rory gave him a look, “That’s not terrible. It’s a great song, one of my favorites.”

“I was humming it in public, you’re lucky Dick or the gremlin didn’t catch me. Also, of course, Replacement would watch whatever you asked him too so he has watched more than I have. It seems he would do anything for you.” Jason said, popping another piece in. “Besides, what is your obsession with this movie?” he asked, looking over at her ignoring Romeo confessing his love to a balcony in the middle of the night.

“My mother watched it with me for the first time when I was about four, and it stuck with me. I remember wanting to be Eliza Doolittle and tried to dress in my mother’s fancy clothes and attempt to try a British accent.” Rory said with a forlorn look on her face. “I’ve been watching it every night because it’s something I can fall asleep to.”

“Have the nightmares gotten bad again?” he asked, sitting up more to look at her better. Rory gave him a slow nod and he swore under his breath. “I told you, you can come and find me any time if they get too bad,” he said and pulled her into a hug.

“I know, it’s just that Tim is so adamant that I sleep. He wants me to heal quickly because he is so worried. I can tell that he still blames himself, I see it in his eyes every time it’s mentioned or he gets a glance at the bandages. I just hope he isn’t going to do anything reckless without me around.” she sighed and leaned into Jason’s hold relaxing slowly.

“Well, know that Dick, Bruce, Damian, Steph, and I will take care of him. Have been for a few years now, princess,” he said with a chuckle. “There is no trouble he can get himself into that we can’t get him out of.”

Rory let a smile spread on her face. “Thanks, Jason, and speaking of Tim I need a way to get him back for picking me up over his shoulder. I said that I would attack the thing he loves most, but what is that?” she asked.

Jason was half tempted to say her but decided against it. Instead, he went with a better option. “Timbo loves coffee and computers. Maybe you could do something with those,” he suggested. “But if this gets turned into a prank war, you are on your own princess. I will not save your ass if he has better pranks than you.”

“Gee, such a great friend you are.” she laughed, wincing from the sudden movement. Jason gave her a look and she saw it from the corner of her eye. “Stop looking at me like that, getting it from Tim is bad enough.”

Jason put his hands up and sat back in his chair again. “Alright, sorry. Do you have any ideas on what to do with his coffee or computer?” he asked.

Rory grinned and turned her head to look at him, “I might have a few up my sleeve.”

That night before she went to bed, she and Jason enacted their plan to sabotage Tim’s coffee. The two of them made sure that they were up before everyone and went down to the kitchen and saw Alfred cooking, with a fresh pot of coffee brewing. The house rule was that no one was allowed to touch the pot until Tim had his first cup.

The two of them talked with Alfred as everyone began to file in. First was Dick, then it was Damian, Roy, Stephanie, Jesse, and Bruce. Bruce made his way over to Rory and looked at her, “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I’m feeling good.” she smiled. “I’m excited for the day.”

Bruce gave her and Jason odd looks when Tim finally entered the kitchen. As they predicted, Tim went straight for the coffee pot and poured his coffee, and grabbed the milk and sugar. He poured a bit of each in before stirring it and taking a sip.

No sooner did the coffee touch his lips, that he spat it out all over the floor. “What the fuck!?”

Rory and Jason tried to hide their smiles, as everyone else laughed at Tim’s disturbed face but Tim saw them and narrowed his eyes. “What the hell did you two do to my coffee?” he glared.

“I may or may not have switch the sugar out for kosher salt,” Rory said with a laugh, covering her mouth. “This is payback for picking me up over your shoulder, I did say that I would attack what you loved most, and here we are.”

“Then why is he laughing too?” Tim looked at Jason who was trying to keep his mouth shut.

“Why, Timothy dear. It was his idea.”

Jason looked at Rory with a bewildered expression, “It was not my idea! It was hers.” but Tim didn’t seem to believe him.

“I’m gonna kill you, Todd.” Tim frowned and charged at Jason, who got up quickly and took off down the hall wanting to avoid coffee-deprived Tim, for coffee-deprived Tim was scarier than Damian on a bad day.

“Miss Aurora, would you please tell me where you and Master Jason put the sugar? I would like to have sweet tea, not salty this afternoon.” The tone of Alfred’s voice was disapproving, but his eyes betrayed him. It seemed that he had thought Rory and Jason’s prank was funny.

“Sure thing Alfred.” Carefully she got up and walked over to a cabinet where she had stashed the real container of sugar and gave it to the butler. “I can help clean up the mess?” she asked with a small smile.

As the week progressed, Rory grew more and more anxious about whether Tim would try and get her back or not. According to the others, especially Damian, it would be more likely than not that he would try and get her back so she chose to watch her back just in case.

Alfred had declared her wound healed for the most part, and Rory was once again allowed in the Bat cave but still not on patrol. She just had to work with Barbara and keep an eye on them and provide help if they needed it. It wasn’t a bad job, Rory was a genius when it came to computers and enjoyed working with Babs who in turn taught her things while Roy and Jesse left for Star City to check on Oliver and let them know she was okay.

It was after one of those rough nights of patrol that Tim finally attacked.

Rory drug herself into the kitchen late one morning after Damian left for school and Dick went to work. Tim was in the cave, working on a case while Jason took some time to himself. Stephanie was down in the kitchen as well, munching on a bowl of dry cereal when Rory opened the fridge and pulled out the jug of orange juice.

Orange juice was one of Rory’s favorite things, and Alfred had been wanting her to drink more of it because it gave her the vitamin c she was missing. Stephanie watched as Rory grabbed a glass and poured it mostly full. Placing the jug on the counter, Rory took a big gulp of the juice. What she got instead was not what she expected.

Almost immediately, she ran to the sink and spat it out gagging in the process. The taste was so horrible, Rory wanted to vomit. Quickly getting a new cup, she filled and drank water out of it multiple times to try and get the wretched taste out.

Only then did she realize that Stephanie had her phone out and was trying to hide her giggle. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at the blonde sitting on the counter. “Steph, what the hell was that.”

 _“That, dear Aurora was cheesy orange juice. I opened a few packs of mac and cheese powder and poured it into the orange juice.”_ Tim’s voice sounded from the phone. Stephanie turned it around and saw Tim was video chatting her to see the reaction to the juice prank.

“You know what, dragon boy? This means war. I went easy on you with the salty coffee, so you better surrender now.” she threatened, holding a wooden spoon in her hand. “Because this is going to get so much worse for you before it gets better.”

And that’s how the 6th Wayne Manor Prank War began.

The orange juice event had spread around the manor quickly. Stephanie not only video called Tim, but she managed to get a video of it and sent it to the entire Wayne Manor residence. Damian never let her forget her moment of shame mumbling something along the lines of “I always check my drinks for I ingest it, any civilized person would do the same.” which earned him a whack on the back of the head from Dick, telling him to be nice.

Ever since she declared war, it was almost as if Bruce and Alfred were hiding, not wanting to get caught up in Rory and Tim’s war. No one knew when Rory would strike next, and they didn’t want to be caught in the middle of it or worse be the one to accidentally set of whatever she planned. Lucky for them, Rory wasn’t pulling out the big stops yet, she went for another small prank.

It was simple, everyone knew that Tim had a specific cup he carried around. It was a basic white mug with the saying “World’s best detective.” Bruce’s said “World’s second best detective.” Tim made the mistake of leaving it out on the counter one evening and Rory decided to leave a little message.

When the next morning came around, everyone was getting breakfast except Bruce and Barbara who were still in the cave working from the previous night. Tim was working still too, but he had come up for some coffee with the pot downstairs empty and no supplies to brew another pot.

When he entered the kitchen, only Dick, Jason, Damian, and Stephanie were in sight and were quietly eating their food. This set off red flags in Tim’s mind, there was some reason all four of them were so quiet and he had a bad feeling about it. Grabbing the pot, he poured coffee into it and checked the sugar once more to make sure that it was not salt again even though it would be idiotic to repeat a prank.

Tim leaned against the counter and watched his siblings eat quietly as he sipped his coffee, but the second he took a sip the four of them started giggling. Quickly he removed his mug from his lips and inspected his coffee. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

The four of them shrugged and went back to eating, something was not right. He knew there was nothing wrong with the drink itself, he had already tasted some and it was normal; so what made them laugh? He took another sip and they laughed some more. Again, Tim lowered his mug and this time felt his lip expecting something to be there. But nothing was.

Adjusting his grip, he felt something on the bottom of his cup and quickly he peeled it off to see that it was a stick note. He flipped it over to see the words _“Aurora Queen is a mother fucking beast and will win this prank war.”_

Tim crumbled the note and saw that Jason was holding up his phone with Rory on a video call much similar to what he and Stephanie did. _“See you got my note dragon boy, sticky notes don’t lie. That was my last nice prank, Timothy, give up and I’ll let you grovel for an hour instead of prolonging it.”_ she grinned.

“Just you wait, songbird. I have a few tricks up my sleeves, you won’t see them coming.” Tim hit the red button and hung up the call. “Hey Damian, I’ll drive you to school today yeah?” Damian gave Tim a skeptical look, he never wanted to drive him anywhere let alone drive period. What was he up to?

Rory sat in the kitchen later that day, reading a book when Stephanie walked in holding a bag from Burger King. “Hey Rory, I was out and got you something,” she said and pulled out a box of ten-piece chicken nuggets, placing them in front of Rory. Everyone knew that these were her favorite and quickly grabbed the box.

“Thanks, Steph,” and with her mouth salivating for the taste of Burger King nuggies she opened the box. What she was in the box was not chicken nuggets. Instead, they were replaced with the worst thing on the planet, roasted brussels sprouts. Immediately Rory knew what this was. This was Tim’s prank at getting back at her for the note, well it was time to stop playing nice.

With this newfound revenge, she quickly enlisted the help of Damian promising to do his homework for two weeks if he just 'accidentally’ destroyed the coffee pot in the kitchen, which he did. Alfred replaced it and before anyone could notice, Rory printed out a sticker that said “Voice-activated” on it and had a list of commands underneath it.

Knowing how tired Tim has been, it was perfectly timed. This time she was in the kitchen with everyone to see the chaos that was tired Tim ensue. He trudged into the kitchen and saw the new pot with the label saying it was voice-activated.

He shrugged it off assuming it was some fancy high-tech pot that just came out. Looking through the list of commands he said “Brew black coffee.” Nothing happened. He said it twice more and still, nothing happened.

Rory and Jason, who had seen her labeling the pot bit back a grin watching a now tired, and irritated Tim yell at a coffee pot to make him coffee only for it to not be voice-activated at all. Alfred walked in and saw Tim still yelling and now insulting the pot. “Master Tim, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to get some coffee.” he grumped. “But this stupid ass pot won’t work!”

“That’s because it’s not voice activated sir.”

Tim’s jaw dropped and he turned on his heel to see both Rory and Jason gone. Of course, he just fell for another prank. He was determined to win this war so he looked at Alfred, “Could you help me with something?”

“Of course, sir.”

A couple of hours later, Jason and Rory were sat in the bat cave getting her wound checked once more. After a little poking a prodding, Jason deemed it healed. Her skin had healed together nicely and she didn’t feel much pain moving anymore but she still had to take it easy and no patrol for at least another week.

Alfred had come down and told them that he had made his famous brownies if they would like any. Of course, if anyone knew anything it was that Alfred made amazing brownies and they were so good you would kill for them. Quickly, the two of them bolted up the stairs and into the kitchen where they saw Tim, Stephanie, Dick, and Damian all eating some of Alfred’s famous brownies.

When they got to the pan and pulled back the foil, they frowned. There were no brownies in the pan, instead, there were several brown e’s in the pan with the word 'gotcha’ written on the underside of the foil. The two of them turned to look at Tim who was smugly enjoying his brownies.

“That’s cold replacement, getting Alfred to help you and with the brownies no less,” Jason said, sending his younger brother a glare. Rory was just as pissed if not more so, she had never tasted Alfred’s brownies she has only heard of their greatness.

“This is for that voice-activated coffee bullshit,” he said with a grin. Rory walked over, grabbed his plate, and shoved it into his face.

“And that’s for involving poor Alfred.” and she walked off.

Days had gone by and there was no retaliation prank by Rory and Jason, which worried everyone. Or so it seemed. This prank was very low key and it would take a very sharp eye, or nose more likely to notice it. Eight days had passed before Dick finally spoke up, he wasn’t sure but to him, Tim had been smelling like dinner for the last few days and he was confused.

“Hey, Timmy, did you change your body wash or something? You smell like dinner.” Everyone in the cave nodded in agreement, the only ones silent were Jason and Rory.

“Yeah Timbo, you smell like chicken soup.” Stephanie laughed, “We all just assumed that you had changed something when you showered but the look on your face and the sudden silence of the dynamic duo tells us otherwise.”

Now that they had mentioned it, Tim’s showers had been smelling like chicken soup. He just brushed it off as Alfred cooking, but he hadn’t made anything chicken-related in two weeks. Rory sat in her seat with a wide smirk on her face, with Jason keeping a straight face but smiling with his eyes.

“What did you two do to my soaps?!” he cried, walking over to them.

“We didn’t do anything to your soaps replacement, relax,” Jason said, turning in his chair to polish his helmet once more. Rory however, kept looking at him.

“He’s right, we did nothing to your soaps. The showerhead however is a different story dragon boy, or should I say chicken boy now?” she grinned. Tim’s eyes widened and he ran upstairs to his shower and pulled off the showerhead. Once he pulled it off, three chicken bouillon cubes fell out and into the tub.

No wonder he had been smelling chicken soup, he had been showering in it for over a week!

Once everyone learned of the prank, they began to call him chicken boy which only fueled Tim’s determination to get his final prank done. It was three days before Rory was allowed to join patrol again so the two of them decided to have a sit-down and talk about their prank war.

Rory had brought Jason and Tim surprisingly brought Damian with him. “What do you want to discuss chicken boy?” she asked with a grin.

“You are going back on patrol in a few days, right? Bruce wants this war of ours to end before then so I have a proposition. We get to play one final prank on the other, and we get help from one other person. Everyone else will decide who had the better prank at the end. I assume you are picking the walking dead over there and I picked Damian.” Tim replied, Jason, making a rude hand gesture at the name.

“How did you get Damian to agree to help you? I bargained two weeks of his homework.” Rory said crossing her arms.

“He promised not to say or do anything stupid for two weeks,” Damian said, adjusting his stance behind Tim. Rory nodded, mentally applauding Tim for his choice of bribery and assistant.

“Alright Drake, I’m assuming we get tomorrow and the next day to enact our prank and the team with the best prank wins?” she asked, raising a brow. “And what does the winner get?”

“The winners get bragging right and an entire batch of both Alfred’s cookies and brownies,” Tim said, leaning back into his chair. “Deal?” he stuck out his hand and Rory gave it a shake.

“Deal.”

The next two days were total chaos, everyone in the manor knew of their final prank and they were scared of just how far they were going to go with this. No one was more than Bruce and Alfred.

The first day and come and gone and nothing had happened, so if they were going to pull a prank it was going to be on day two, and Tim, Rory, Jason, and Damian were ready. The night before while Tim and Damian were out on patrol, Jason and Rory snuck into Tim’s room and reorganized everything.

His dresser drawers were switched around, the files in his filing cabinet were rearranged, his containers were switched and so were the flies on his computer. Rory managed to hack into it and renamed every file and reorganize them so it looked like nothing had happened, making sure to leave no pattern for him to follow to put everything back the way it was. Then they crept into Damian’s room and did the same, even though there was not much to reorganize.

Tim and Damian had gotten back from patrol later that night once Rory and Jason were asleep and put their plan to action. Under everyone’s door, they left a note warning them to be careful opening the doors in the Manor and to not sit on any of the chairs either.

Behind every door, they had duct-taped an air horn so once they opened it the horn would go off and under every chair, they could so when they sat, the horns would go off too. Once everything was done they retired for the night.

The four of them woke up at around the same time and the first casualty of the final prank was Tim. When he went to get dressed, he opened his drawer to find that his pants were where his underwear and socks should be. Taking this as a hint, Tim looked around to see that everything was different. How the hell did he not notice that, to begin with? Tim was always very particular about his stuff and those two knew and yet they messed with his stuff.

The next casualty was Damian who suffered from the same fate only it didn’t bother him as much as it did Tim. It was easier to fix it and put it all back where it belonged, what irritated him was that he was roped into something that Drake had started. Being part of the prank was not what he agreed to. Damian shrugged and began to reorganize his room.

Jason and Rory were next. When they went down to breakfast, the door to the kitchen was left open slightly. Being as tired as they were after reorganizing Tim and Damian’s rooms, they swung the door open only to be greeted with a very loud horn. Rory let out a scream and fell to the floor as Jason jumped three feet in the air.

Tim stood behind them with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. “What happened Rory? You alright?”

Still, on the floor, Rory flipped him off. “Fuck you, dragon boy. You still seem to be in a good mood, so you haven’t even seen the worst of what we did.” Jason bent down to help her up, the two of them careful of the kitchen door this time. Rory moved it away from the wall and saw the air horn taped to the wall.

“Well played, I’m guessing you gave everyone else a heads up?” she asked, looking around everyone didn’t seem as disturbed as she and Jason were but they were definitely laughing.

“I don’t think I have ever seen Jason jump that high, or even move that fast.” Dick laughed, eating a spoon of cereal. It was Jason’s turn to flip him off and the two of them got breakfast, checking behind the fridge and cabinet doors. It was safe to say that they were slightly scared now.

What they weren’t expecting was when they sat down on the only two open stools, more horns went off scaring the both of them again, this time flinging their food into the air. At this point Rory was pissed, that was twice he got her in five minutes. Was nowhere safe in the manor? Pulling the horn of her seat, she threw it at Tim’s head who only caught it.

“Scared of a little horn songbird? I thought you were tougher than that.” he grinned.

“Watch your back dragon boy, I might just try to throw you off a building.” she threatened and got herself a new bagel because hers landed in one of the potted plants. Jason had gotten himself a breakfast sandwich and all the pieces were across the room.

With breakfast done and over an hour later, every room Rory and Jason walked into they opened the doors carefully and checked before they sat down on any suspicious chair. “I think we’re safe on the couch, at least until he finds what we did to his-”

Jason was cut off by loud yelling, followed by what sounded like someone running downstairs. “You wanna try that again princess?” Rory asked and got up, ready to run if Tim was feeling a little murderous.

Tim slammed the door open, making a horn go open and scaring himself with Rory laughing at him. “What happened Timothy? Something wrong?” she asked with a grin. Tim stomped over and held out his laptop.

“What did you do to all of my cases!?” he yelled.

After a lengthy explanation, Rory fixed everything on his laptop to the way it was before. “Now, to decide the winner,” she said and went down to the Bat cave, as the passage opened Rory, Jason and Tim made their way down. What Rory didn’t know was that there were more horns hidden for them.

Not thinking that Tim would rig the chairs in the cave, both Jason and Rory plopped their butts down onto a chair only for them to jump off and onto the floor when the horn went off.

“Well, now that everyone is down here there is a matter for us to discuss,” Dick said. “Who had the better prank?”

Almost everyone said Tim and Damian, apparently watching the two of them scream and jump every time there was a horn was funnier than watching Tim try and refigure out his room. Rory slumped in her spot and pouted. She was never going to hear the end of it from Tim nor Damian.

What made it worse was that they both get a batch of Alfred’s cookies and brownies all to themselves. Twice now that Jason and Rory were denied that chocolatey goodness, but Tim and Damian did win fair and square even though Rory’s earlier pranks were better. It seemed that Tim saved the best one for last and it’s what got him the victory.

“Now that this prank war of yours is settled, you two are going to be partnered on patrol again. Rory, you will be helping Tim with his case on Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Cobblepott. You two will leave continue tomorrow as Alfred has requested she rest for at least another day to make sure she is healed enough to get back out.” Bruce said.

“Also, please try not to start another prank war or anything for at least 6 months.”


	9. Chapter Eight

“I thought you said we weren’t going to get caught this time bird brain!?” Grey Arrow shouted as she and Red Robin ran from multiple carnivorous plants.

“I did! But that was before we knew Ivy could power cameras with fucking potatoes and lemons Arrow! Now keep running!” Red Robin shouted.

“Oh, mister super genius isn’t such a genius after all! What a shocker.” she snapped and fired an explosive arrow behind them to try and slow the plants, only for them to push through and keep coming after them. The mission had been going so smoothly up to ten minutes ago.

_“Rory, remember you and Tim are going to be tracking Ivy tonight. Harley may be locked up in Arkham, but she is suspicious enough and we don’t have any information on Penguin. Poison Ivy is extremely dangerous and you two are not allowed to engage her alone under any circumstances.” Bruce said, looking the two of them down. “Am I understood?” he asked._

_Both Rory and Tim gave him a nod. “Yeah, it’s just a recon mission, Bruce. We’ll be okay.” Tim said patting his shoulder. Rory placed her mask on her face as Tim pulled his cowl up and over his head. They decided to share a bike this time so Red Robin hopped on with Grey Arrow getting on behind him._

_“You better hold on Arrow,” he said and sped off into the night. Grey Arrow quickly wrapped her arms around him, gripping his waist tightly so she didn’t fall off. “I told you to hang on.”_

_“Next time, I drive Red,” she muttered and held on tight as the two of them drove towards Botanical Gardens where Poison Ivy was currently residing. Pulling into an alley a block away, they hopped off and took to the rooftops. The view of Gotham at night was beautiful, she could totally see the appeal of staying and being a permanent vigilante of Gotham, but Oliver needed her back home._

_Red Robin and Grey Arrow jumped across rooftops and rolled into a landing on the roof next to the gardens. Grey Arrow could tell just from looking at it that no one has dared go into it for a very long time. The shrubbery outside was massively overgrown and the bushes were so tall it looked like a maze, the Botanical Gardens being a maze, to begin with._

_Turning on the detective mode on his mask, there was almost no power going into the building besides the basic heat and lighting the place needed to run so no security cameras. He looked at his partner, “So it seems that the place is dead, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t in there. Remember, Ivy is extremely dangerous and her toxins could actually kill or seduce anyone so stay alert and just don’t touch any plant. If you see something move, run.” he explained._

_Grey Arrow gave him a quick nod. “Let’s go see if she has anything for us.” she grinned and shot an arrow across the street using her bow as a zipline and slid down onto the roof._

_“And not get caught this time!” he called going after her, and with that the two of them jumped off onto the roof, breaking through the glass ceiling making an option for a quick getaway. Taking a look around, the building was hot and humid with all the plants in there and it smelled like manure._

_“Ivy is an eco-terrorist, right? She wants to take over to save the planet or something?” Grey Arrow asked as the two of them traversed the maze of hedges and flowers._

_Red Robin let out a chuckle, “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Imagine if she used her powers for good, the planet would be in such a better state.” he sighed. “But almost everyone in Gotham is greedy or crazy.”_

_“I can understand that. Let’s keep moving.” Taking the lead, Grey Arrow kept an arrow at the ready just in case she needs to shoot something. As they walked, Grey Arrow kept trying to shake off the feeling that they were being watched._

_“Why do I have the feeling something is watching us?” Red Robin asked after a few tense moments of silence, turning away after looking at a large purple flower._

_“Maybe because I am.” a sultry voice sounded. Quickly the two of them turned and saw the purple flower get bigger and Poison Ivy stepped out of it, her green skin glistening in the humid lighting._

_“Ivy, how nice to see you again. We were just taking a look around you know, enjoying the new decorations. Are those angel trumpets?” Red Robin asked, trying to keep things civil the best he can._

_“Yes, and they are quite poisonous,” Ivy said, her voice resonating across the glass walls._

_“Well, we should probably get going you know? A lot of hero stuff to do, us birds have a lot to do in a night,” he said._

_Ivy’s bright green eyes narrowed on Grey Arrow. “Who is this with you, Red Robin? I have not seen her before,” she stated, walking closer to them now as the two of them tried to keep their distance._

_“This is just a friend from Star City, she’s helping me on a case.”_

_“What a coincidence, Harley’s knee was shattered by a girl in a grey suit said to be from Star City.” Ivy frowned as she circled them. “I told my dear friend that I would hunt down the woman responsible and make her pay and it seems that you just willingly brought her to me.”_

_Grey Arrow’s eyes widened as did Red Robin’s. “I hate to break it to you Ivy, but you have the wrong girl. There are multiple girls here from Star City, she isn’t the one you are looking for.” He lied, pressing Grey Arrow behind him._

_“Don’t lie to me Robin, I can that you are withholding the truth from me and why is that? ” she asked. “Could it be that you care for the girl? I saw the way you two moved through my cameras. You haven’t let her out of your sight.”_

_“How did you use cameras when there is almost no power in the building?” Red Robin asked, trying to get the subject off of Grey Arrow._

_“My dear pretty bird, did you forget that you can power things with items as simple as a potato and lemon? I can grow as many of those as I want and give myself infinite power. Now, about the girl, Harley was very adamant that I should avenge her knee. I feel as if I would be betraying my friend if I were to ignore her wishes as illogical as they seem.”_

_Grey Arrow felt Red Robin tense in front of her, using an arm to keep her behind him. Of course, she was using his feelings towards his best friend against him. There was no way to deny it, especially with the way he was standing in front of her._

_“She is a friend of mine, that’s all.”_

_“I can fix that.” Three large plants shot out of the hedges behind Poison Ivy and roared into the night, the plants were tall and they had teeth similar to those of a Venus flytrap but these looked much more lethal._

_“Arrow, we have to get out of here,” he said and two of them took off running as Ivy sent her monster plants after them._

Grey Arrow and Red Robin weaved through the massive hedges, jumping over and dodging the plants that came their way not wanting to be caught by Poison Ivy. Batman had told them specifically not to engage her and that’s what they were doing by running away.

As they ran they tried to look for a way out, but massive vines began to cover up the walls and windows blocking any nearby exit.

“You have any ideas other than trying to blow them up?” he shouted, jumping over a vine.

“I don’t see you doing anything! But by all means, give me a plan!” she shouted back and shot more explosive arrows at the monster plants coming at them. Grey Arrow could feel her legs starting to burn, she hadn’t run this much in a long time and there was no way in hell she was going to stop.

Of course, she had to piss off an eco-terrorist before even meeting her, taking a quick glance around Grey Arrow saw a small opening. It might be their chance to get away. “Hey Red! Go left!” she said and turned left jumping through the hole in the shrubbery, Red Robin right behind her.

With a sigh of relief, the monster plants were stopped by the large shrubbery that was too thick for them to get through. Taking this as their chance, Red Robin and Grey Arrow started to make their way to an exit. They were so occupied with trying to get out, that neither of them noticed the vines creep up on them and wrap around their ankles.

It was too late and the vines wrapped themselves around them both and dangled them upside down as Ivy parted the shrubbery and walked over to them. “You thought you could get away? I own this garden and you two bats are stuck in here with me.”

“I am technically not a bat as we established earlier.” Grey Arrow said trying to lighten the mood.

“Seriously Arrow? We are being held upside down by a supervillain and that is your main concern?” Red Robin asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

“Hey! I am not getting roped into whatever business she has with Batman or the others.” Grey Arrow yelled at him. Red Robin rolled his eyes.

Ivy looked between the two of them with a slightly amused smile, since she had them right where she wanted them there was no one stopping her from having a little fun with her new pet birds. “I think Red Robin deserves a kiss, what about you, my delicate bird?” she asked, as she slowly made her way towards him.

“What? No, I don’t think that’s necessary you know?” he said, trying to wiggle out of the vines holding him up.

“Hey, greenie! I’m the one who fucked up Harley’s knee right? She told you to avenge her busted joint, so why don’t you just kiss me instead? Besides, I’ve been told I am a really good kisser.” Grey Arrow said, Ivy slowly turned to look at her and a grin spread on her face.

“I don’t think I have ever heard of someone willing to subject themselves to me to save another. Either you are really brave, or really foolish.” Poison Ivy walked over to Grey Arrow and stroked her cheek.

“Fun fact, did you know that the Oracle of Delphi was thought to be the center of the world in greek mythology?” She blurted as Ivy began to lean in closer, hoping Red Robin got the hint. Which he did.

With his free hand, he connected his com. “Hey, Arrow and I are in a bit of a pickle and will be needing help. Sooner than later would be nice too,” he said quickly.

_“What do you mean pickle Red Robin?”_

“I mean Ivy is about to kiss Arrow and I don’t want to know what’s going to happen next.”

 _“Nightwing and Red Hood are on their way. Whatever you do, don’t let her poison either of you!”_ Oracle said through the com.

Red Robin let out a short-lived sigh of relief, help was coming but his best friend was about to be kissed by Ivy and he was being dangled by his ankles. Making a reach of his staff in the back of his belt, two more vines shot out of the ground and held his hands together.

“Sneaky little bird you are, but I’m afraid that you will not be able to help your friend,” she said and lifted Grey Arrow higher so she was level with her face. Grey Arrow’s eyes widened as Ivy grabbed her head and kissed her.

Arrow didn’t know what to do, her hands were bound and her mind began to go fuzzy like she was in a dream. Before she knew it, Grey Arrow was kissing Poison Ivy back and she liked it. Ivy’s lips tasted of something sweet and Grey Arrow couldn’t get enough of it as she tried to kiss her deeper.

Red Robin watched with a shocked expression and tried to get free but to no avail.

The kiss was interrupted when the ceiling above them crashed in and Nightwing and Red Hood dropped in. “Seems we were a little late to the party.” The former grinned.

Ivy released Grey Arrow from the kiss who dangled there in a dazed state with her eyes glossed over and her lips a shade of red. Quickly the duo cut down Red Robin and he landed on the floor grabbing out his staff.

Ivy let out an agonizing scream, feeling the pain her plants were in. Recoiling, her vines retracted themselves and dropped Grey Arrow to the floor who was still in a dazed state, with a thud.

“Spin the bottle is over Ivy, leave before I decide to not be so friendly.” Red Hood threatened, aiming his twin guns at her. With a mischievous glare, she backed into her carnivorous plants.

“By all means, take the two birds and leave. My work here is done.” and with that, she disappeared into the hedges.

Not wanting to hang out there any longer than they had to, Red Robin grabbed Arrow as the others grabbed her bow and quiver and grappled out of the Botanical Garden and onto the nearest rooftop. Carefully, Red Robin set Grey Arrow down against a wall and tilted her head up to look at him.

Grey Arrow still had a glossy look to her eyes but it seemed to be fading some, the poison from Ivy’s kiss still affecting her body. She could barely keep her head up as the three guys checked her for any lethal signs from the poison.

“I think she is just in a daze, from what it seemed Ivy didn’t want to kill her. Just mess with her.” Red Robin said. “We need to get her back to the cave and make sure. Hey, can you walk?”

Grey Arrow shook her head slightly. “Can’t… feel… anything…” she groaned, her eyes started to droop and fell forward but Red Robin caught her and held her up.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked as he picked her up. It still baffled him how she told Ivy to kiss her after he specifically told her not to let Ivy get that close before they left the cave.

“Better me… than you…” she drawled. It was getting harder for her to stay awake and they all could tell.

“I’ll take her back. You two get back to where you’re needed.” Red Robin said and carried her to their bike they arrived on.

“Batman, Robin, and Spoiler are taking up the slack, besides we were almost done with our shifts that’s why Oracle sent us. Nice hint by the way Arrow, the Oracle of Delphi.” Nightwing said with a laugh looking at the girl in Red Robin’s arms before taking off for downtown to where his bike rested.

“Yeah, we’ll meet you there, make sure she doesn’t fall off the bike Replacement yeah?” Hood called and took off after Nightwing into the night.

Letting out a huff and got on the bike and held Grey Arrow secured to his chest as he sped off for the Bat cave. Pulling into the drive, Tim pulled off his cowl and got off, and carried Rory over to Alfred.

“I swear, this better not become a regular thing, Master Tim,” Alfred said as he checked Rory’s vitals. To him, she seemed to be normal and waking up more the time had passed after the kiss.

“You’re telling me, Alf. She told Ivy to kiss her, said it was better her than me.” He leaned against the table and Rory looked around. She had the feeling back in her body and could actually move again, but there was this burning feeling inside her that she couldn’t figure out.

“She seems alright, I’m afraid I can’t do much else for Miss Isley’s poison except tell her to sleep it off. Miss Aurora must have gotten quite a large dose, so it will take a few hours to wear off completely.” Alfred said standing straight. “Now Miss Aurora, no more kissing supervillains. You got very lucky that you didn’t die instantly.”

Rory gave him a nod. “Yes sir, and I promise. No more kissing supervillains, I’ll leave that to Bruce.” she grinned and pushed herself off the table, stumbling a bit with the burning feeling inside her still.

Tim caught her shoulders and looked at her, “You okay songbird?” he asked. Rory looked at his worried face and smile softly.

“Yeah, I’m alright Tim. Don’t worry, it will take a lot more than a poisoned kiss to keep me down.” Tim laughed at her statement and nodded.

“Alright, let’s get you to bed.” Tim helped her up the stairs and to her room, the entire time Rory was trying to figure out why she felt like she was burning on the inside. It wasn’t hunger or thirst per se at least not for anything food-wise. But what was the hunger for?

Tim stopped in front of her door. “I’m going to go change really quick. You get ready for bed and I’ll be in to check on you okay?” he asked. Rory gave him a nod and watched as he walked across the hall and disappeared behind his bedroom door.

Rory then entered her own room and turned on the light, taking a look at herself in the reflection of the mirror. Watching her hand, she reached up and lightly touched her lips. She could still feel the impact of Ivy’s kiss. What was it that she meant by ‘Her work here was done’?

Her eyes still were a little glossed over, but it was fading quickly. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head and put on a nightshirt and shorts. It was when Tim came back into the room that Rory finally realized what the burning hunger inside her was.

Desire.

“Hey, songbird, you doing okay?” he asked and walked over and stood in front of her, Rory had an odd look on her face and it worried him some.

“Yeah, I am just great,” she said biting her lip and looked up at him. Tim looked at her and noticed that something was definitely off about Rory.

“Are you sure? You look a little- Woah!” While he spoke, Rory grabbed the collar of his shirt and pushed him down onto the bed and climbed on top of him, Tim’s face going a bright red.

“Uh R-Rory, what are you doing?” he stammered.

“I’m doing what I want, and right now that’s you.” she grinned, looking down at him. Tim’s eyes widened at her words. There was no way in hell Rory wanted to sleep with him, she was never this forward, always rejecting the advancements of others.

Taking Tim’s shocked silence as an opening, Rory kissed him.

Tim was moments away from melting into a puddle of confusion and embarrassment. What the hell was wrong with Rory and why was she kissing him!? Carefully, Tim placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her off. “Rory, you clearly are still under Ivy’s influence,” he said, trying to snap her out of it.

“No, I know what I want and I want you Timothy.” she kissed him again and pinned Tim’s hands back. For someone who was drugged, she still had a fair amount of strength. Tim tried to fight the kiss but somewhere in the middle, he had no clue when, but he began to kiss her back.

This had been something he didn’t even know he wanted until he felt it. The way Rory’s lips seemed to fit perfectly with his made his heart soar. Rory’s hands released Tim’s and he placed them on her waist, her shirt rising slowly as she moved hers to his dark hair.

Tim let out a groan as he felt her tug on his hair and he snapped out of the kiss. Quickly he flipped them over and held her down, breaking the kiss. “Rory, you are under Ivy’s influence still. This is not what you want,” he said.

“But you aren’t, so is it something you want?” she asked, batting her eyes slowly and biting her lip. Tim had to convince himself not to kiss her again, Rory was not in her right mind and if things went any further, he would not forgive himself.

“It doesn’t matter what I want. You need to sleep this off,” he said and pulled out a syringe he had stolen from Jason a few days ago. He had forgotten that he had left it in these sweats. The story behind it was that Jason was carrying it because Tim had refused to sleep during the prank war and that went on for almost three weeks. So, he had taken it upon himself to make Tim sleep, with a sedative.

He pulled the cap off with his teeth and stuck it in Rory’s neck, within seconds she was out. Letting out a long sigh, he dropped his head on her shoulder. What the fuck was he going to do now? Was this what Ivy meant when she let them go? Thinking back on it, they should have paid more attention.

Getting off the bed, Tim tucked her in and turned out the lights, and turned on her starry light. Rory was not afraid of the dark, but she preferred to have the stars above her while she slept. Running his hand through his hair, he took one last look at the girl sleeping on the bed and walked out of her room.

“What the hell happened to you babybird?”

Tim froze and saw Jason standing there with his arms crossed. “And why is that empty?” he pointed to the syringe still in Tim’s hand.

“Don’t ask, just don’t,” he said and disposed of the syringe before walking into his room and shut the door. The last thing he needed was Jason, or anyone else for that matter finding out about what just happened in Rory’s room.

Sitting at his desk he began to work more on the case he and Rory were assigned to, but his thoughts kept straying towards the kiss. He couldn’t get it out of his head, the way her lips felt on his and how perfect it seemed. The warmth of her skin under his fingers and the way he felt when she tugged on his hair.

With a loud groan, he dropped his head on his desk with a thud. Tim shouldn’t be thinking that way about his best friend, that’s all they were meant to be. But the pit in his stomach grew, it hurt him to know that Rory would never feel that way for him. One of the worst feelings was unrequited affection, and he didn’t want to ruin their friendship any more than he possibly had.

“Hey, Tim? You okay in there, I heard a loud thud?” Dick’s voice sounded from the other side of his door.

“Yes? No?” he groaned. “I don’t know.”

Without another word, Dick walked in and sat on Tim’s bed. He saw the look on Tim’s face and grew worried. “Hey, kiddo what’s wrong?” he asked, placing a hand on Tim’s back.

Tim leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes with his hand. Dick was way too observant for Tim’s liking, so were Jason and Damian but it was Dick outside his door so maybe he could help him.

“What I tell you does not leave this room, okay?” he asked, still avoiding his eyes. Dick grew more worried for his younger brother, what had him so bothered that he didn’t want anyone else to know?

“Yeah, sure Tim. I promise.”

Tim let out a sigh and finally looked at Dick. “I think I fell in love with my best friend”


	10. Chapter Nine

Rory awoke with a splitting headache and a pain in the side of her neck the next morning. What the hell happened last night? Looking on her nightstand she saw a note:

_“Ivy toxin gives you a killer hangover, take this. It will help.”_

_~Tim_

Rory looked and saw a couple of pills sat there with a bottle of water. Slowly she sat up and took the Advil and sighed. How did she get Ivy toxin in her system and why was her neck sore? With a groan, she got up and grabbed her robe, and pulled it around herself. Looking in the mirror as she passed it, Rory sure as hell looked hungover.

Her eyes had bags and her hair was a complete mess, and was that a bruise on her neck? What had happened to her? The last thing she could remember was running from the giant monster plants and calling Tim an idiot, and there was something to do with potatoes and lemons. But after that, everything was completely blank.

Exiting her room, she heard commotion downstairs. Following the noise, she entered the kitchen and saw the entire Wayne family including Bruce. Hearing the door, Jason turned to look and saw Rory there.

“Well if it isn’t Sleeping Beauty, need a kiss to wake you princess?” he grinned.

At his words, everyone snorted a laugh and Tim almost choked on his food. Eyeing them all, Rory grew more suspicious. “What the hell are you talking about Jay?” she asked, grabbing a cup of coffee and drinking it immediately.

“What do you mean, ‘what the hell am I talking about’? According to Timbo and Babs, you made out with Ivy last night.” he grinned, taking a bite of his apple.

It was Rory’s turn to choke on her coffee. “Excuse me? I did not.”

“You did when Jay and I got there the two of you were in a total lip lock. Speaking of which, how does the hangover feel?” Dick tried to hide his grin behind his cup.

“Why the hell would I kiss Poison Ivy, last I checked supervillains were not my thing boy, girl, or other,” Rory said sitting in the only open seat there was and that happened to be between Tim and Jason, and across from Dick.

“Should you tell her Timmy, or should I?” Jason teased, poking Rory in her side.

“Don’t touch me again, Jason,” she said trying to drink her coffee in peace, and then looked at Tim awaiting an explanation. “Tim?”

Tim had been silent the entire time and barely looked at her, and Rory was confused as to why missing the looks Dick seemed to be giving them.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked, almost seeming afraid of her answer.

“It was when we were running from those monster plants of hers, I said you were an idiot and I vaguely remember something about potatoes and lemons. But everything is blank after that, I’m guessing that is a side effect from Ivy’s toxic kiss?” she asked.

“Yup, isn’t that right Bruce?” Jason called out with a grin. If looks could kill, Jason would be six feet under, again.

“Well, we managed to get away from those plants but we walked into a trap. She caught us and she was going to kiss me, but you managed to convince her to kiss you instead. When I asked you about it once we were out, you said it was better you than me. What did you mean by that?” Tim asked, his voice was quieter than usual and he was acting really odd, too odd for Rory’s liking.

“I’m guessing I just wanted to protect my best friend. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you dragon boy,” she admitted, it seemed like a reasonable explanation and she was sure Tim would have done the same.

When Rory called Tim her best friend, his heart plummeted. Of course, she had thought of him as her friend and her friend only.

“But none of this explains the bruise on my neck and why it hurts so much.”

“What!?" 

Rory nearly jumped out of her seat and saw that everyone was now staring at the bruise on her neck, and the more she thought about it she realized that it did look similar to a hickey. There was no way in hell that Poison Ivy did that to her.

"Timothy what did you do last night!?” Jason yelled at him wrapping his arms around Rory in a protective manner and pulling her closer. 

“Jason let go of me!” she snapped and looked at Tim, who was flushing a bright red.

“I didn’t do anything, I swear! It was the syringe you saw last night, I sedated her so she would sleep!” he said quickly holding his hands out.

Rory was trying to get out of Jason’s 'protective hold’ still and looked at Tim. “Why the hell did you have to sedate me! What did I do?” she yelled. “Jason, I swear if you don’t let me go I will make you want to cry.”

“You were drugged up on Ivy toxin, what the hell do you think you were trying to do?!” Tim yelled back. It was Rory’s turn to go bright pink, she quit trying to fight out of Jason’s hold and went still.

“I did not…” she said quietly.

Tim nodded, “Nothing happened, but that’s why the bruise is there. I stabbed you with a sedative so you would sleep it out of your system.” he explained, of course, Tim left out everything that happened in between but no one needed to know that she had kissed him; and that he almost gave in to her. He didn’t even tell Dick what had happened, only the fact that he was falling hard for his best friend.

“Well, now that whole situation is settled, I need to have a talk with you two,” Bruce said, standing from his seat and walking over to Rory and Tim. “Did I or did I not tell you two to not engage Poison Ivy last night?” he asked.

“You told us not to Bruce, and we didn’t,” Rory answered. “Right Tim? We did not start it?”

Tim nodded in agreement. “Ivy was watching us through her cameras that I had no idea where there, apparently she can use the potato and lemon trick.”

“Is that what I was yelling at you for?” Rory said, breaking her gaze from Bruce and looking at Tim who nodded in response. “But yeah, we didn’t break that rule boss. She found us and attacked us.”

“Last I checked, telling her to kiss you instead is engaging.” Bruce narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms and stared down Rory. She scoffed and stood up to meet his gaze.

“So you’re upset that I saved your kid and put myself in danger instead?” she asked, disbelief laced in her tone. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, Bruce was upset that she got poisoned last night but surely this kind of thing happened a lot.

“I’m upset that you still engaged her, you could have gotten hurt or killed. Ivy isn’t known to show mercy often so you got very lucky.” Bruce’s voice dropped to a dangerous tone as if daring Rory to say anything else on the matter.

“So what the hell was I supposed to do then? Let her possibly kill Tim? Oliver sent me out here to learn how to be a better hero and I am getting scolded for doing what was right? Of course, I would prefer me over Tim getting hurt or killed any day because, in this Manor, I am expendable. He isn’t.” Rory was pissed, she knew Bruce cared for everyone but sometimes he didn’t show it very well and this was one of those moments.

“And how would I explain to Oliver that his daughter got herself killed on my watch?”

“With the truth. I subjected myself to save my best friend, Oliver knows that I would give my life to save those I care about but if you can’t accept that then I see no point in staying here any longer.” She turned on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind her.

Bruce stood there quietly, his anger and irritation radiating off him. It was moments before he too exited the kitchen and everyone left there was stunned into silence.

“Is that what I look like when I fight with the old man?” Jason asked after a few moments.

There was unanimous “Yes!” from everyone and he shrunk down in his seat, defeated.

“I’m gonna go check on her,” Tim said getting up and leaving the kitchen, following Rory. Knowing her, she would have gone somewhere she didn’t want to be disturbed, but where was that?

Deciding to check her room first, he knocked on the door and there was no answer. Slowly he poked his head in and saw that her room was empty so he shut the door and made his way down to the bat cave, only she wasn’t down there either.

When he came back up, Alfred was waiting for him. “If you are still looking for Miss Aurora, she is in one of the rooms Master Bruce had refurnished for her.”

“Thanks, Alf.” he smiled and went to the south wing of the manor, that’s where the rooms were that no one used anymore. The closer he got, he began to hear music from down the hall so that meant she was down this way for sure.

The further down the hall he got he heard the music coming from the last room, there were no known plans for it that he was aware of. So why was Rory using one? Once he was outside the door he could hear the music loud a clear and oddly he recognized the song. It was _Sleeping Beauty No. 4 Carabosse -The Lilac Fairy._

Tim quietly opened the door and saw that the entire room was remodeled into a ballet studio, just for Rory. In the middle of the room stood Rory who was doing a variation of Carabosse’s solo. The way she moved with such precision, Rory’s movements were sharp and precise like Carabosse.

With the music blasting in the background it was no wonder she didn’t notice Tim enter. She was angry, he could see it in the way she moved and the look on her face as she danced around the room spinning and jumping into the air on her pointe shoes.

No wonder she had always been so agile, Tim had never seen her dance even when she was in Gotham. Her mother and teachers forbade it because outside influence was distracting, but that never stopped him from supporting her.

With the climax of the song, Rory’s movements got sharper and sharper. She was the embodiment of anger while she danced even though her movements were smooth and fluid, and it should have scared Tim, but as he watched he couldn’t think of her as anything but beautiful.

The song ended and Rory spun around and landed in a finishing pose, her breathing heavy and ragged. She hadn’t danced like that in a very long time, but she had forgotten just how exhilarating it was to dance her heart out.

There was a clap behind her and she quickly turned to see Tim standing there, how long had he been watching her?

“What the hell are you doing here dragon boy?” she asked.

“I’m the dragon boy? Shouldn’t I be calling you the dragon now, I wouldn’t be surprised if you began to breathe fire after I saw that.” Tim chuckled walking into the room. “Wasn’t that the Carabosse solo?” he asked, walking towards her as Rory hit pause on the stereo system.

“It was, how long were you watching me?” she asked, grabbing her bottle of water and taking a big drink of it. “Almost no one manages to see me dance, so you must have been very quiet.”

“Not very long, but enough. Even as a kid, I never got to see you dance so I took the chance and stayed. You’re very good, I can see why that school accepted you.” he smiled.

Rory laughed, “Well, what you witnessed was my Carabosse variation from my last ballet. I may have graduated early, but the school wanted to keep me around for their more intense roles. What they wanted for Carabosse none of the other girls could pull off, so they brought me in and I was Carabosse in that year’s spring ballet.”

Tim’s eyes widened, “They kept you around for a couple more years because you were that good?”

“It’s almost insulting how surprised you sound Timothy.” she chuckled and sat down, unlacing her pointe shoes and sliding them off her feet and pulling socks on instead. “Besides, I was one of the best dancers to come out of that school so of course, they would want to keep me around after I graduated.”

Tim watched her, he could see that she was still upset over her fight with Bruce so he came up with a brilliant idea.

“Alright songbird, get up,” he said and walked over to the stereo and looked for a specific song. Once he found it, he hit play and walked over to Rory, and held out his hand to her.

“What the hell are you doing dragon boy?” she gave him an amused smile and took his hand. He pulled her up and close to himself. Tim placed a hand on the small of her back and the song began.

Rory recognized it as the Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, with a light chuckle she looked at her friend and placed her hand on the arm that was on her back. “Do you even know how to waltz Drake?” she asked.

“Of course I do, all us Wanyes know how to dance in various forms. Now, I may not know how to do ballet but I know how to waltz and the last time I checked this was the waltz at the end of the movie after the prince saved Princess Aurora, right?” he asked.

Rory rolled his eyes. “You are so cheesy, but yes it is but my dress isn’t changing colors and you are not exactly a prince,” she said as Tim led her in a waltz around the studio.

“Those are semantics, besides being a Wayne is basically royalty in Gotham so close enough.” he smiled and spun Rory around as she let out a giggle. Pulling her back to his chest, he held her close as they kept time with the song his eyes not leaving hers.

“You ready?” he asked after a few moments, his smile turning into a grin.

“Ready for what- Hey!” Rory squealed a giggle as Tim picked her up off her feet and swung her around a few times as her feet dangled off the floor. “Timothy you put me down!”

Tim let out a hearty laugh and set her feet back on the floor. “I asked if you were ready.” he grinned. Rory just rolled her eyes as the two of them kept waltzing around.

Damian was walking by the hall when he heard Rory squeal, curiosity took the better of him and he walked down to the hall and peeked in the door to see Drake and Sonnet waltzing in the studio his father had made for her.

“Hey little D, what are you looking at?” Dick asked and looked and saw Tim and Rory who were both caught up in their own world to notice them.

“tt” Damian huffed. “I can waltz better than that,” he muttered.

“Then, by all means, go interrupt them.” Dick grinned and shoved him in. Damian let out a noise of protest and that brought Rory and Tim out of their trance and looked over. “Damian thinks he can waltz better than Tim, I told him to prove it.”

Rory and Tim stopped and laughed, “Alright kiddo, prove it.” Rory said and held out her hand. Damian to flush red a little and took her hand, basically shoving Tim back.

“I was not only taught by my father, but my mother believed dancing helped improve your fighting technique,” he said as he began to lead Rory in a very by the book waltz. “I can see that when you fight, your movements are fluid almost like Greyson’s but he was an acrobat. You were a ballerina weren’t you?”

Rory looked at Damian who was just barely shorter than her. “You are half right, I am still a ballerina. I just haven’t performed in a few years.” she danced with Damian and his movements felt much stiffer than Tim’s but then again she could tell that Tim was trying to make her laugh after her mood went sour.

“Hey Gremlin, you’re a little too stiff. Let a pro show you how to waltz and sweep a girl off her feet.” Jason said from the door making everyone look over. Not only was Jason there but so were Stephanie and Barbara who were trying to hide their giggles. Damian did look a little stiff like he had never been that close to a girl before.

Before Damian could object, Jason moved him over and took Rory’s hand and began to move around the floor with her, Jason’s movement more fluid than Damian’s but not as loose as Tim’s. “So question for you princess, did your parents name you after the movie or something?”

Rory shook her head. “Technically no, they named me after the ballet, like my grandparents named my mother Clara after the Nutcracker. My mother’s last performance before she found out she was pregnant with me was Aurora in the Sleeping Beauty ballet here in Gotham. Both my parents decided that if I was a girl they would name me Aurora.”

“Well, I think it suits you,” he said and kept waltzing with her.

“Alright, my turn.” The two of them stopped and saw Dick standing there.

“No way Dickiebird, it’s still my turn,” Jason said, stopping and turning to look at his older brother.

“You got your dance, I want a turn.” he pouted. Rory crossed her arms at their argument but felt a pull and turned to see Tim behind her.

“I think we may have started a competition on who is the better dancer.” he laughed. Rory chuckled, “We all know it’s me. Professional ballerina over here.”

Tim rolled his eyes and offered his hand once more. “May I have this dance songbird?”

Rory smiled and took his hand and the two of them began to waltz once more, ignoring Jason and Dick’s argument. It took Tim almost tripping over his feet and Rory laughing for them to look and see them dancing again.

Dick looked back at the door and saw the girls watching Tim and Rory longingly. He walked over and offered his hand to Barbara “Come on Babs.” he smiled and took her hand, slowly spinning them in a circle and dancing with her. 

Jason watched and saw Stephanie frown a little and with a light chuckle, walked over and dragged her over and danced with her too making Stephanie laugh. The only one not dancing was Damian, but he preferred to watch anyway.

It had been almost an hour and neither Alfred nor Bruce had seen any of the kids and it started to worry them. Normally when they are quiet for this long, something bad was happening like another paintball war in the gardens or some stupid stunt competition that usually ended with someone having a broken bone.

The two of them went up and down the halls before they heard laughter coming from the south hall where they had set up a ballet studio for Rory. Walking down there, Bruce stood in the open doorway and saw his kids waltzing around and having a generally good time. Barbara was laughing the most, while the others were just laughing with wide smiles on their eyes but in the back of the room, he saw Tim and Rory off in their own little corner and ignoring the others as they danced around.

It was then he realized just how much those two cared about each other. It worried him, Tim was so young but the look on his face he had seen when his father Thomas looked at his mother. It was complete adoration and he was more than happy that Tim had found someone he cared about like that.

Alfred let out a chuckle from his side. “I think Miss Aurora is a wonderful addition to the family. I haven’t seen any of them smile like this in a while. She is truly something special, maybe it was fate Master Oliver sent her to us.”

Bruce looked at his butler and smiled a little. “Yeah, maybe you’re right Alfred.”


	11. Chapter Ten

It had been six months since Cassandra left for Tokyo and she couldn’t wait to be home in her own room with her bed and most of all she was excited to eat Alfred’s cooking. The limo pulled up to the house and stopped in front of the large doorway. With a smile, Cassandra got out of the car and walked up the stairs, and pushed the large doors open.

She was expecting to see her whole family there waiting for her arrival but was surprised to see no one there. They must all be down in the cave, so she dropped her bags by the stairs and walked over to the study, and turned the clock handles. When the doorway opened, she made her way down the stairs and knew immediately that everyone was in the cave because she heard various shouting.

Walking in the large open cave, she was surprised to see her siblings all huddled around the boxing ring. What surprised her, even more, was who was in the ring. She could see the familiar figure of Jason with his white streak making him stand out, but the other person had her intrigued. From what it looks, Jason was currently in a body lock with a girl half his size wrapped around him with a grin on her face.

Her legs were wrapped around his neck and pinning an arm back in a very uncomfortable position while her arms were holding his still so he couldn’t get out. Cassandra was very impressed, not many people managed to physically get that close to Jason and get him into a hold like that. This girl had to be very flexible and smart.

“Hey! Let me go, princess!” he cried, letting out a groan as she pulled tighter.

“Are you going to learn your lesson? When I say don’t poke me, don’t fucking poke me Jason.” she snapped, “I can make you pass out from this hold so unless you want to take an unexpected nap I suggest you don’t try that again.”

“Alright fine!” he said, trying to tap out as Rory let him go.

“Six months away and you manage to find someone who can make Jason beg for mercy,” Cassandra said with a laugh. All eyes turned to her.

“Cassandra!” Stephanie ran up the stairs to hug her friend and sister. “You’re back!”

Cassandra hugged her back. “I did tell you the day I was coming back you know.”

“We were meaning to meet you at the door but Jason thought he would be funny and try and piss off Rory so we’ve been down here watching her kick his ass,” Tim said as he came up the stairs with the others behind him.

“Well, I’m sorry to have missed it. Maybe he can do it again so I can watch this time?” she asked with a grin.

Jason shook his head at her. “Very funny Cass, until you are caught in her hold I don’t want to hear any of you say anything.” he rubbed his neck that was red from the hold Rory had on him.

Cassandra looked and saw the brown-haired girl come up the stairs and stand next to Tim, watching her she could tell that Rory and Tim were close but how close were they exactly? She held out her hand to the new face. “I’m Cassandra Wayne, Tim has told me a lot about you.”

Rory flushed a little and took her hand. “Aurora Queen and I hope it’s nothing too crazy, but they have told me about you as well.” she smiled. “It might be because Jason wants someone to kick my ass that isn’t Bruce.”

Cassandra laughed, “Didn’t you throw a shoe at his head? Isn’t that a little unfair?”

“Hey! Sometimes you have to fight dirty if you want to make it out in mostly one piece.” Rory said trying to hide her laugh.

“Well, I’m not doing anything until later tonight so why don’t we go for a round?” Cass said.

“Yes, Cass, please. I’m tired of getting pinned.” Jason grinned and raced back down the stairs.

“More like tired of getting his ass kicked by a girl half his size,” Dick muttered quietly, but loud enough everyone heard it.

“Hey! She kicked your ass too Dickhead!” Jason called from the bottom of the stairs.

“Yeah, and everyone else. Do you see us whining about it?” Tim said, jumping down the steps.

“Oh, but I bet you secretly enjoy it Replacement.” Jason grinned and grabbed out a secret stash of chips he had hidden. At his words, Tim went a little pink and was flustered really quick.

“What? Do not!”

Jason just rolled his eyes and sat down and watched as everyone began to surround the boxing ring again and Rory climbed back into it with Cassandra following. “Give her hell for me Cass!”

“Fuck you, princess!” Rory called and flipped him off with a laugh and fixed her hair back behind her head. “Ready when you are.”

Cassandra pulled on a pair of gloves and blew her hair out of her face, getting into a stance. “Bring it on, and don’t hold back.”

Rory gave her a nod and launched herself at her, with every punch she threw Cass seemed to dodge it at the right time which only irritated her. Twisting her body around, she tried to land various kicks and hits but Cassandra only dodged them not making an offensive move of her own.

It was almost as if Cassandra was watching her, analyzing her moves. She seemed to know Rory’s moves before she even made it. If that was true, she needed to try and be more unpredictable. With a running start, she made it look like she was going to jump over her but slid between her legs and kicked her back, only Cassandra stepped to the side and caught her foot. 

“What the hell!? I had you!” she cried. Cass only smirked, “You’re a lot smarter than I thought, but it is very hard to outsmart me in a fight.” She pulled Rory close and slammed her to the floor with a hand on her chest and a loud thud.

Everyone watching winced and gave an ‘ooh’.

“That looked like it hurt princess.” Jason grinned shoving more chips into his mouth.

Rory laid on the floor panting softly and flipped him off yet again. “You want to go again? I’m sure I can figure out more ways to pin you down.” Looking at Cassandra she raised an eyebrow. “How the hell did you do that?”

Cass let her go and pulled Rory to her feet, “I can tell from a person’s body language what moves they are going to make. So yes you had the right assumption in trying to be unpredictable but you think with your eyes. It’s how I caught you. Mask that and you might beat me next time.”

Rory let out a huff. “Woah, I’ll have to keep that in mind.” she laughed.

“Come on, it's almost dinner time and Alfred was making your favorite Cass,” Dick said from the side and helped Barbara up the stairs. Cass jumped out of the ring and followed them. Rory jumped out of the ring and almost landed on Tim, who managed to catch her.

“Woah there, you almost took me out songbird.” he laughed.

“Maybe that was my intention dragon boy.” she punched his arm lightly and made her way up the stairs leaving him in the dust.

Tim stood there and watched her with a lovestruck look that didn’t go unnoticed by Jason. Patting Tim on the shoulder, he chuckled. “You know, if you stare at her like that much more she could get a restraining order on you, or worse figure out you like her.”

Tim looked at Jason trying to hide his surprise. “Psh, what? I do not like Rory.” he crossed his arms not meeting his eyes.

“Timbo, it’s so obvious. It’s actually painful how oblivious she is. Why don’t you ask her out?”

Tim snorted. “Now who’s the weird one. I can’t ask her out for multiple reasons. Reason one, she could say no. Reason two, she could figure out I think of her as more than friends and still say now and that’s even worse. Finally reason three, I have never been able to ask out anyone without tripping over my words and looking like an idiot.” It was true, when Tim and Stephanie dated years ago he tried to ask her on a date and he would get so flustered and nervous it would come out in a jumble of words.

“Geez Timothy, just keep it friendly at first. Maybe coffee, or find something she likes to do so she will be more inclined to say yes. The Russian Ballet is in town two weeks from now, maybe try that. Take her shopping, to a shooting range, or just hang out on patrol. You two have a lot in common so figure something out.” and with that Jason took off for the kitchen after the rest of his family, leaving Tim alone in the cave with his thoughts.

He sighed, as much as he hated to admit it Jason was right. But how could he be sure that Rory even cared for him in that way? He had yet to take her out around Gotham other than the mall trip weeks ago, maybe he could convince her to go with him. Besides, didn’t Bruce have a gala coming up? He could try and take her dress shopping, but knowing the girls they would rather take her and not him so maybe not that.

Thinking more, the ballet idea was looking like the best option and he knew she would love it. With the end of November having come and gone, more than likely the ballet would be the Nutcracker. Which also reminded him that her birthday was coming up this month.

Entering the dining room, he saw that everyone was there and he sat down next to Rory who left a seat open for him. He decided that he would ask her after dinner, and pray that she said yes. Of course, because he was looking forward to the end of the meal, time seemed to drag on and on. Everyone was excited that Cass was back, and Jason gleefully recounted how Cassandra put Rory into the mat.

It was close to eight when dinner was done and everyone went down to the cave to get ready for patrol, except Cass because she was still jet-lagged and needed some time to adjust. Rory was about to descend the stairs when Tim caught her hand and pulled her back. “Hey Rory, I have something to ask you.” not missing the look Jason gave him as he went down the stairs.

“Sure Tim, what’s up?” she asked, tilting her head.

“So, the Russian Ballet is coming to town in two weeks you know before Christmas? Well, I was wondering if you um-” he stopped talking trying to find the words he wanted to say. Why was he always so shy? He had known her most of his life, so why was this so hard?

“Tim, are you asking if I want to go to the ballet with you?” she giggled softly, watching Tim go red. He was always cute when he got flustered and she thought it was adorable.

Tim gave her a quick nod. “Yeah, would you be willing?”

Rory quickly nodded. “Of course! I haven’t been to a ballet I wasn’t performing in in years!” she smiled brightly and hugged him. “But I don’t have anything to wear.”

'Well, I can take you shopping or the girls can if you want them to instead. They would be pretty upset if I took you.“ he laughed.

"I’ll ask if they want to go this weekend, of course, we will have some major sucking up to do in order to get out of patrol that day but I think it’s manageable,” she said and hugged him tightly before running down the stairs with the biggest smile on her face.

When Tim got down there, both Jason and Dick walked over to him both dressed in their suits. “What the hell did you do Tim? Rory won’t stop bouncing around.” Jason asked, adjusting his domino mask.

“I decided to ask her to go to the ballet that’s coming to town and she said yes. I guess that was the right way to go.” he smiled.

“I told you it would work,” Jason said smugly.

“Your dating advice worked? Yeah right. I’ll believe it when I see it.” Dick laughed and fixed his mask and patted Tim on the shoulder. “Go get ready lover boy, Rory is almost ready.”

Tim walked over to his suit and changed quickly before meeting Rory by their bikes. “You ready?”

“When am I not dragon boy?” she laughed and put on her mask and hopped on her bike. Tim rolled his eyes and hopped onto his own bike and started it.

“We’re staking out Penguin tonight, so park your bike and meet me on the roofs,” he said and took off out of the cave, with Rory right behind him.

She followed as Red Robin drove through the streets and pulled into an alley not too far from the docks. Climbing off her bike, she turned it off and grappled to the roof where Red Robin was waiting for her.

“So what’s the plan Red?” Grey Arrow asked, standing next to him as they watched the dock activity.

He pointed at two rooftops in front of them. “You see those? We are going to plant ourselves on both sides of the dock and listen. We shouldn’t get caught, but with you getting caught is all that seems to happen.” he teased.

Grey Arrow frowned and pushed him off the roof. “Asshole,” she muttered as Red Robin caught himself before he hit the ground and grappled back up with a laugh.

“Alright, no more teasing. Just set up shop over there and keep an eye on them okay? With your new mask and com pieces you should be able to see and hear everything.” He explained looking at her, “Need me to show you?”

Grey Arrow gave him a nod. “Sure, this whole detective mode is still whacky to me.” she chuckled. “I’m just happy Bats didn’t call it Batvision or something stupid like that.”

Red Robin let out a laugh and turned her to look at him. “So, there is a button right here that you push okay? It puts the mask into detective mode and automatically that enhances your com to hear farther. You can adjust the settings on the fancy wrist piece that you got to like this.”

He took her hand and hit a few buttons to where a holographic screen appeared with several settings where she could hack into the cameras and bugs and listen in on things she can’t see. “Dude, this is so cool. I am actually a bat now.” she laughed and looked at Red Robin, who was still right in front of her.

With his cowl on, she couldn’t see anything but his lips and did not want to admit that she was staring at them but she couldn’t help but notice the way they curved into a smile naturally. Red Robin was staring at her still, with a hold on her hand. He could see her eyes through her mask, and how beautiful they looked in the starlight. Slowly, he pulled her closer wanting to feel her against him again.

Grey Arrow let herself be pulled and leaned into him and bit her lip slowly, curious to know what his felt like against hers. But of course, all good things must end.

_“Hey! That doesn’t look like working you two!”_

Both Red Robin and Grey Arrow jumped and saw Spoiler standing a few roofs away waving at them. “Shut up Spoiler, I was showing her how to use her new gadgets.” Red Robin replied. They heard Spoiler laugh through their coms and watched as she took off into the night.

“We should probably get working you know?” Grey Arrow cleared her throat and stepped back before firing an arrow and slid across it to the next roof and took off for the stakeout point, leaving Red Robin there to watch her leave.

He had almost kissed her again, but this time she wasn’t drugged. Shaking the thoughts away, he grappled to the roof across from Grey Arrow and crouched down so he wouldn’t be seen and watched.

“Oracle, are you getting our feed?” he asked.

_“Yeah, I can hear and see both feeds. If you two stay there, we might get more info on this case. Batman told me to remind you that Penguin plays nice even less than Ivy does, so no kissing.”_

Red Robin heard Grey Arrow snort through her com. _“Gee thanks Oracle. What would I do without you?”_

 _“Absolutely nothing.”_ Oracle laughed softly and then went quiet.

It had been two hours of listening before they even got something remotely interesting.

_“Hey, why are we moving all this stuff again?”_

_“Because the boss has a deal with Ivy who is partnered with Quinn. Ivy wanted this stuff moved out of her gardens, saying it was poisoning her babies and nulling her powers.”_

Grey Arrow zoomed in with her detective mode and saw some very familiar barrels, the exact ones from the funhouse in Amusement Mile. “Hey, Red you getting this?”

_“Yeah, loud and clear. But why would Penguin work with Ivy and Harley? What does he get out of it?”_

“Well, let’s just watch and see,” she replied and kept watching.

Four more hours had passed and it was now almost two in the morning. Grey Arrow was getting hungry and not to mention it was getting cold outside. Star City never got this cold so she never thought of putting a thermal lining in her suit.

Little white flurries began to fly down from the sky, looking up Grey Arrow let out a string of curses. “Of course, just my luck,” she mumbled and curled up trying not to freeze.

“You look like a popsicle.” Turning her head, she saw Red Hood there holding a bag of what looked like McDonald's.

“Please say that’s for me.” she pleaded.

Red Hood laughed and handed her the bag. “Red Robin placed in an order, he also requested that I give you this.” He then took off his brown jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “He said that he could hear your teeth chattering from across the street.”

Grey Arrow curled up in the warm jack and let out a sigh. “It’s so cold, how can you guys live like this?” she asked, grabbing a burger and taking a bite while still watching the docks. It had been relatively quiet since that little bomb of Ivy and Harley working with Penguin on something.

“Thermal lining. We all have it in our suits, if you just asked Bats would hook you up, you know that right?” he said sitting with her.

Grey Arrow rolled her eyes. “It never got this cold in Star City, let alone snow. So I never thought of it.”

“Bet you're thinking of it now.” he grinned. Grey Arrow frowned.

“I’ll push you off the roof, just ask Red Robin over there.” she pointed across the street where Red Robin was, or used to be.

“Um, he’s not there.”

Grey Arrow’s head shot up to look and sure enough, he wasn’t there. What the hell happened to him? Looking around, she saw him walking on large crates above the docks. “Red! What the hell are you doing?” she snapped.

 _“They went further in, neither of us can get a good feed so I’m going in. Stay there with Hood, I’ll be back in twenty,”_ he said a disappeared through a small hatch.

Grey Arrow went to get up, but Red Hood stopped her. “Stay here, I’ll get him out if something goes wrong,” he said and stood up and watched the docks. The next twenty minutes were agonizingly quiet, Red Arrow did not respond to their messages and it was worrying them.

Suddenly an alarm went off and the two of them stood up straight. Red Robin was still in there.

“You stay put, I can’t risk you getting hurt because you are so cold.” Red Hood said and took off for the docks. People were running out of the building and there was still no sign of Red Robin. Grabbing her bow, she ziplined down to the floor and landed next to Red Hood.

“He’s still in there right?” she asked. Red Hood nodded and they both went to go in, right as they were about to open the door the building exploded and sent Grey Arrow and Red Hood flying back into the building behind them.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Grey Arrow rubbed her head from the impact she made on the wall. The December night air was no longer cold from the chill winds and snowfall. It was hot, burning hot from the building across the street engulfed in flames. Quickly she got up and ran over, pulling to a stop right outside the building, and pulled down her hood.

Her dark hair cascaded in the wind as her eyes welled up with tears. Tim was in the building when it went up in flames. Before she could get any closer two strong arms wrapped themselves around her. “Arrow, you can’t go in there.”

“He’s in there!” she screamed, trying to get out of his hold. “My best friend is in there and I need to get him out!”

Red Hood held onto her as tight as he could, he knew that if he let Grey Arrow go she would dive headfirst into the fire to find Red Robin, and truth be told, so would he. After a minute of screaming for him to let her go, Grey Arrow collapsed to the floor and watched the building burn and begin to crumble.

Choking back her sobs, her hands grabbed at the floor. Maybe he was underground in the sewer or something. He had to have gotten out, he was trained by the best escape artist in the world. There was no way Red Robin would die in an exploding building.

As he stared at the building, Red Hood thought of how he didn’t want his fate to fall on anyone in his family. He would rather shoot himself before one of them got killed, but as he watched the building burn he couldn’t help but think of what could have happened to his younger brother.

“Guys?”

Quickly, the two vigilantes turned to see none other than Red Robin walking towards them while holding his side. His appearance seemed to be a little charred but nothing life-threatening. Grey Arrow stared at her best friend in disbelief. 

“Is it really you?” she asked, carefully making her way over.

Red Robin nodded and before he knew it, Grey Arrow stormed over and slapped him across the face. Without another word, she took off into the night. There were not enough words to express how mad and hurt she was and thought it best that she didn’t speak to him until she had calmed down.

She patrolled around the southern side of Gotham, watching for some poor unsuspecting criminals she could take her anger out on. Lucky for her, there was a mugging outside a beauty parlor. Dropping to the floor, she pulled out an arrow and shot one of the muggers in the shoulder.

“Leave him alone, or the next one goes in your dick,” she growled. The man slowly backed away with his friends following, fearing more for their anatomy than their lives, and took off leaving the guy stunned on the floor.

“Who are you? You’re not a new bat are you?” he asked, as he grabbed his wallet from the floor and other personal belongings.

“No, I’m Grey Arrow. Just paying a visit to Batman for Green Arrow.” was all she said. “Get home quickly, I doubt you would get lucky a second time.”

“I’m Peter and thank you for saving my life Grey Arrow. Also, please do not tell my husband about this. He worries enough about me as it is.” he smiled softly and walked off towards his home. Grey Arrow watched as he walked and decided to follow him, it wasn’t every day that you met someone that nice in Gotham City.

She stuck to the rooftops and watched as he walked into his apartment building and into the loving embrace of his husband. Satisfied, and less angry than before she decided to return to the Batcave for the night and rest up.

Getting back to her bike, she rode back into the cave and saw that there were others waiting for her. More specifically, everyone but Bruce, Alfred, and Babs. Dick was working with Damian on his technique while Stephanie was talking to Cass. Jason was stood off to the side with a sour look on his face and in the middle stood Tim, leaning against a wall still in his suit.

At the sight of Tim alive and well, all of Rory’s rage and anger towards him came back all at once. The cave went quiet as she parked her bike and took off the helmet, and threw her domino mask to the floor. She narrowed her eyes at Tim. “You.”

Before he could even say or move, Rory raised her bow and shot four arrows at Tim pinning him to the wall by his suit. “You fucking asshole,” she growled. “Damian, give me your sword.”

“Why?” he asked, looking at her as she stormed into the cave.

“I’m going to kill Tim.”

Damian shrugged “Alright, take it.”

“Damian don’t you dare give her the sword!” Tim cried from his spot on the wall.

“Why should I listen to you?” he huffed. “I’m not the one who almost got himself blown up.”

“Damian, don’t you dare,” Dick warned, at this Damian gave him a side glance and decided against giving Rory the weapon.

“No, by all means. Give her the weapon, I’d love to see what she’d do to this little shit.” Jason egged on, not trying to diffuse the situation at all.

With or without the sword, Rory was still pissed as she stormed over to a terrified looking Tim. “You have exactly 30 seconds to explain why you thought it was okay to go into that building and make me think you were dead.”

“Rory, I swear. I didn’t mean to! My com had interference so I couldn’t warn you about the bomb. I made it out the back before the building blew and was knocked into one of the crates.” he said quickly, watching as his best friend stopped in front of him.

Now that she was this close, she could see the red mark from where she had slapped him. “I thought you were dead!” she roared at him, making everyone in the cave flinch at the volume of her voice.

Rory pulled the arrows out of the suit and threw them to the ground. “There will never be a good excuse to ever let me think you are dead! Do you understand me!?”

“I think we should give them the room,” Dick said and began ushering everyone out of the cave, while Rory’s chest heaved with anger and Tim backed into the wall as far as he could.

“Rory, I never meant to scare you like that. I only-”

“You only what, Timothy!? I thought I had lost you! I-I thought -” at this point, the anger had disappeared and the tears she held back came tumbling down. She fell to her knees sobbing, “I can’t lose you too.”

Tim’s heart broke at the sight, he didn’t think he had caused her this much pain. Slowly, he knelt down next to her and made her look at him. Wiping the tears away with his thumbs, he brushed her hair back. “Listen to me when I say this songbird, there is nothing on this planet that could ever take me away from you. I promise you, with everything I am that I will not leave you.”

Listening to this only made Rory cry harder as he pulled her close to his chest. She gripped his shirt, not daring to let go. The two of them sat like that for a few moments before Rory quit crying. “Come on, let's get you to bed. It’s almost four in the morning.”

Rory nodded and slid out of her Arrow suit and stayed close to Tim who led her upstairs. They passed the others who only gave them odd looks as if to say ‘Why the hell hasn’t he kissed her yet?’

Tim led Rory to her room, she was exhausted. Grief, even if it was misplaced can exhaust a person greatly and Rory had used all of her energy yelling at Tim so she was ready to collapse at any moment. She was so tired, Rory didn’t even bother putting on sleep attire and just crawled into bed. Tim tucked her in and was about to turn out her lamp when she grabbed his wrist.

“Can you stay please?” she asked in a whisper, so soft Tim almost didn’t hear it.

“You want me to stay?” he asked, she nodded.

“I don’t want to be alone right now.” she rolled to look at him. The way she looked at Tim, this was the most vulnerable he had ever seen her. He must have scared her to death with his stunt earlier. It was bad enough Jason punched him for it, but Jason’s anger was understandable. He thought his brother was blown up like he was, and he didn’t try to stop it from happening.

“Alright, let me change. I’ll be right back.” Without thinking, he kissed her hair and slipped out of the room and into his own to change into sweats and a shirt. Walking out, he saw Jason there, leaning against the wall beside his door. The look on his face was still angry, but he still seemed calmer than before.

“Jay, I’m sorry. Seeing how badly I freaked Rory out, I can barely imagine how much I must have freaked you out,” he said quietly. Jason still didn’t look at him, but Tim saw him relax just a little bit.

Finally, Jason looked at him, “You ever fucking pull something like that again and I will murder you and then bring your ass back just to kick it again.” Tim gave his brother a nod before hugging him, Jason wrapping an arm around his shoulders. The two of them stood like that for a moment before Jason let him go and ruffled Tim’s hair.

“Now, go take care of your girl, replacement.” Tim flushed at his words and pushed his arm away.

“She isn’t my girl Jay, just my friend.”

“No one reacts like that unless they care, a lot, make sure she knows you care about her too okay?” Jason crossed his arms again and watched Tim cross the hall.

“How much relationship advice have you given me now? Do you need to get your head checked?” Tim chuckled.

“Honestly, I’m just surprised none of it has blown up in your face yet. Maybe I have tapped into some secret cupid power or some shit.” He pushed himself off the wall. “Anyway, try and get some sleep tonight. Getting blown up hurts like a bitch, so try and sleep it off.”

Tim bid his brother good night and walked back into Rory’s room, she was curled up in the bed staring at the wall. “Hey, songbird you okay?” he asked as he sat next to her on the bed. Rory turned to look at him, something was on her mind and he could see it. Her eyes were red and so were her nose and cheeks. Had she been crying again?

He got under the covers and pulled her close to himself. “Talk to me, what’s wrong.”

“I’m scared, I’m scared that I’m scared. I haven’t been afraid in a really long time, and with the fear of losing you… I just can’t stop thinking about everyone I’ve lost. My parents, there was a time I thought Roy was dead, Kori, Lena, and Jesse have all shown up in my room bruised and bleeding from a rough fight.” she explained. “For a while, I was able to push it all in the back of my mind. I couldn’t afford to be afraid not after what had happened.”

“What do you mean what happened?” Tim asked, looking down at her.

“So you know how I was Arrowette before I became the Grey Arrow? Well, I was someone else in the middle,” she said, not meeting his gaze. “I was Star City’s White Arrow, the symbol of hope and everything good in my city.”

“That was you?” Tim asked astounded, “What happened? Why did you change from white to grey?”

“There was an accident, I got scared and angry and I messed up big time. I was scared that I couldn’t be the pure symbol in Star City so I darkened my color and changed my name. After that, I always went out on my own. Oliver, Roy, and Dinah hate how much I would just up and leave to patrol on my own but they knew that I had to figure everything out for myself. It’s another reason I came here, to find a better understanding of who I am, who I was, and who I will be.”

Tim listened as his fingers brushed through her hair softly. Everything she had told him lined up, but there was still something missing. What did she do that made her change so drastically? Comparing the White Arrow and Grey Arrow was like comparing Superman and Batman. There were so many contrasts but then there were similarities.

Bart had worked with her as the White Arrow and all he talked about was how merciful and nice she was. Looking at the Rory of the present, she was nothing like that. Hell, she was ready to kill him merely an hour ago, she was brutal, rough and it worried him a little.

Tim looked back at Rory to see she had fallen asleep, so he reached over and turned out the lamp and let sleep overcome him.

“Do you think anything happened last night? Her yelling traveled through the manor, Bruce and I heard it from the study.”

“You didn’t see it, Babs, Rory was ready to murder him. I was worried there for a minute.”

“At least you weren’t the one begging her to do it Steph, Damian almost gave her a sword so she could do it.”

“Can it Dickiebird, I was just as angry as she was if not more. The idiot had us thinking he was dead.”

“I doubt Drake would have stopped her, Sonnet did have him pinned to the wall so he was defenseless like an idiot.”

“Such a charmer Damian, I’m just impressed she got just the suit and not him. That takes a lot of practice and control.”

“Cass is right, I don’t think I have ever seen Roy do that. It was kind of cool.”

Tim groaned and went to roll over but was stopped by something holding him still. Slowly rubbing his eyes open, he saw that Rory had quite literally wrapped herself around him, arms, legs, and all. Seeing her so peaceful made him smile a little, as she slept there was a small smile puckered on her lips from her cheek squishing against his chest.

“Shit he’s awake, abort!”

Tim looked towards the doorway and saw his oh so lovely siblings scrambling to get out the door before they were caught watching Tim and Rory sleep. “You know, it was your loud voices that woke me right?”

“Was not Timothy, you can’t prove it,” Jason said as he went out the door with Dick and Stephanie right behind him.

Tim rolled his eyes and took another look at Rory, brushing the hair back from her face he could see her childhood features still. Her eyes were the same and so was her smile, whenever she smiled he couldn’t help but smile too.

With the commotion of everyone scrambling out the door, Rory began to shift awake and her eyes fluttered open. “Hey, dragon boy.”

“Hello to you too Sleeping Beauty.” he grinned and sat up stretching his arms out. As he did that Rory punched him in the side while trying to hide her smile.

“That’s not becoming a regular thing I hope you know. It’s bad enough Jason calls me princess, but if I get any more connections to the movie I might snap,” she said, sitting up and running a hand through her hair.

“Oh, so you can call me dragon boy, but Sleeping Beauty is out of the picture for you?” he chuckled. “I see how it is.”

“I call you dragon boy because your last name is Greek for the word dragon. It has nothing to do with the fairy tale,” she said as she climbed out of the bed and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Tim watched her disappear into the bathroom and got up and followed her, “So I was thinking since tomorrow is Saturday the girls could take you shopping for the ballet and see what there was. I doubt you want to go next weekend with your birthday next Saturday.”

Rory poked her head out of the kitchen with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. “There’s no way my birthday is next weekend Drake. It’s December, 18th remember.”

“Rory, today is the 10th. Tomorrow is Saturday the 11th, so that would make the following Saturday the 18th,” he said, crossing his arms. Rory gave him a look of disbelief and walked over to her nightstand and checked her phone, toothbrush still in her mouth.

Sure enough her birthday was next weekend, how did the time fly so fast? It was November when she arrived, and Rory had been around for almost a month and a half now. “Well, you better not make a big deal out of it.”

Tim gave her a look of confusion, she didn’t want him to make a big deal of her birthday? “Rory, this is the first birthday I get to spend with you, maybe I want to have a party with everyone in the manor.” he crossed his arms and watched as she continued to brush her teeth and spit out the toothpaste.

“Well, the last nine years weren’t exactly the best with birthdays Tim. Everyone was always coming in and out, the only people that were actually there each year was Oliver and Dinah. We had our own little thing, take a walk through Star City’s Christmas market with cups of hot chocolate or my personal favorite gluhwein. Then we went back home and sat by the fire and watched a movie of my choosing.”

Tim stood there and listened as Rory brushed her hair, recounting her birthdays. Roy was there a lot, but not every year, and the same with the others Jesse, Kori, and Lena, whoever that was. Maybe this year, he was going to make the best birthday she had in years.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Friday had come and passed, and it was the day Barbara, Stephanie, and Cass were taking Rory shopping for the ballet in two weeks. Steph had thought it a great idea to barge into Rory’s room at seven in the morning without any warning. This ended with Rory jumping awake and pinning Steph to the ground with a loud thud. Of course, Rory quickly got up and apologized, kind of.

She warned Steph that surprising her would never end well, and not to try it again. It took about an hour, but all the girls were piled into the backseat of a limo and were on their way to the mall once again.

“So what’s the deal with you and Tim?” Cassandra asked as she sipped her morning tea.

Rory gave her a confused look, “There is nothing going on between me and Tim, we are just friends. Have been for years.” she shrugged leaning back in her seat.

“Yeah, that’s not what it looks like from here Rory. Tin doesn’t act that way around anyone really, he has a soft spot for you.” Babs said looking at Rory from over her cup.

“Yeah, because we’re best friends. What’s with you guys and the way Tim behaves around me?” Rory demanded. Their behavior had been getting weirder and weirder especially with how close Rory and Tim had been getting. What was so wrong with reconnecting with an old friend?

“Sure, whatever you say.” Steph grinned.

Rory rolled her eyes and looked out the window. Gotham was covered in snow now, and it made the city look almost peaceful even though deep down everyone knew Gotham City was anything but peaceful.

The limo pulled up to the mall and Cass and Rory helped Barbara into her chair and began to push her into the mall. “So where to first ladies?” Cass asked, looking around at the stores.

“Well, on the first floor there are some average brand name stores, on the second floor are where the real prestige dresses are with the big-name designers so to the second floor we go,” Stephanie said and took off to get an elevator.

“I don’t need some fancy big designer name dress or anything guys. I could wear a blazer and slacks and fit in.” Rory objected, helping Cass get Barbara and her chair into the elevator.

“Nonsense, you will be going on a date with one of the Wayne heirs. You will look your best Aurora Sonnet-Queen. That is why the three of us are here, to make sure you are the literal belle of the ball or ballet I should say.”

Rory looked to Cass and Barbara for some backup, but they simply just shook their heads. “Once Steph has an idea, there is no stopping her. Besides, she is right. People will notice Tim, so they will notice you too.” Babs said, adjusting her glasses.

Rory let out a sigh of defeat. “But it’s not even a date, he’s taking me as friends. That’s all we are, so get the idea out of your heads.” But as Barbara had explained, once an idea was in Stephanie’s head there was no getting it out. She was hell-bent on making this a date for Rory and Tim, so she was going to make them both look their best. In fact, the boys were taking Tim out for a new suit tomorrow to match whatever dress Rory got.

The four girls slowly made their way to the first dress shop and immediately began to grab dresses to throw at Rory in various shades. They grabbed blue, pink, purple, gold, black, and even white dresses to throw at her.

With the royal blue one in her arms, Rory did the walk of shame into the dressing room and slid into the dress. Looking at herself in the mirror, she did think the dress was beautiful, but it wasn’t her.

“Don’t you dare take that off before we get to see it, Rory! I will come in after you and make sure that we see it.” Stephanie hollered. With a sigh, Rory adjusted the front of the dress and made her way out of the dressing room.

The dress itself was a floor-length, royal blue mermaid dress with spaghetti straps and a low v neck collar. Looking at the reactions from the girls, she could tell they weren’t a fan of the blue one either.

“It looks great on you, but it doesn’t scream Rory,” Cass said.

“No, it really doesn’t.” Rory agreed, “So I can get out of this one?”

“Gee, don’t sound so excited about it.” Barbara laughed. “Go put on the next one.”

Rory sauntered back into the dressing room and saw the next dress in line was a pink one. Seriously? Did they think she couldn’t see what they were doing? Blue and pink dresses? Sliding out of the blue one, Rory replaced it with the pink one.

Looking in the mirror, the dress was another mermaid style but it had a sweetheart collar and the straps were off the shoulder. She did like this one more but she wasn’t much of a pink person. Stepping out of the dressing room, she crossed her arms. “I can see what you three are trying to do. I am not a Disney princess, blue and pink are a no. If I’m getting fancied up, then I am not wearing blue or pink.”

Stephanie laughed “Okay fine, go put on the next one.” and waved her off.

Rory chuckled and walked back into the dressing room. The next dress was a gold one and it was pretty but once she put it on, Rory frowned. This dress was a slim fit, but it was a very low v neck with sparkles everywhere.

Stepping out of the room, Rory shook her head. “I don’t like this one, it’s too flashy.” The girls nodded in agreement and again sent her back into the room and put on the grey dress. Yes, grey was her color, but she wasn’t a very out-there person. The dress was gorgeous, but the top was a v neck and covered in a floral print.

Stepping out the girls gave her a thumbs up, to which she just shook her head. “I don’t like this one either, it looks like a prom dress and I am not going to prom anytime soon.” Steph crossed her arms.

“You better not give us a no on every dress in the pile Rory or there will be words to have with you.” she threatened. Rory let out a laugh and went back in. The next dress was a deep purple one, and the collar was simple with spaghetti straps. A slit went up to her leg, but she didn’t like how open the back was. The ballet was in winter and looking at these dresses she was going to freeze to death before they even left the manor.

Stepping out, she looked at the dress. “I like the color, but I don’t like the strapped back. I feel too exposed.”

Cass let out a sigh, that was the dress she had picked, and was excited to see her wear it but oh well. “Fine, go try on the next one.”

Rory carefully walked into the dressing room yet again and pulled on the black dress. Now, this was her kind of dress, sleek and elegant. The collar was modest and the straps were slightly off-shoulder. Stepping, she gave a smile only to see the others frown.

“Oh come on! The one dress I really like so far is the one you reject.”

“That’s because it looks like you are going to a funeral Rory. This is a ballet, not a reception.” Cass stated, crossing her arms. Rory let out a groan, and drug her feet back into the room. Taking the black dress off, she saw that the last one was a pure white one.

Please let this one be the one, she thought to herself. Carefully she slipped into the dress and her jaw dropped. The dress in itself was simple and modest but elegant all the same. It was a sleeveless scoop-necked dress with a slit that went up to her thigh. The back was a zipper and the material was thicker so she would not freeze completely. It hung closely to her figure, but it wasn’t so tight she couldn’t move like the previous ones.

Stepping out of the dressing room, everyone’s jaw dropped. Rory looked gorgeous in the white dress, Tim had given them the hint that maybe white was a good color but they had no clue why. But looking at their friend in the dress, they understood why. It went well with her skin tone, white didn’t wash her out and it went perfect with her dark hair and eyes.

“Please tell me you like this one? I am tired of trying on dresses.” Rory complained.

All three of them quickly nodded. “It’s perfect. Now go change back, we still have more stores to stop at before we are done.”

Rory let out a quiet ‘oh boy’ and put her regular clothes back on. What else were they going to subject her to now? After paying for the dress, Stephanie took off for the shoe store a few doors down with Rory pushing Barbara’s chair and Cass walking beside them.

Walking in, they were surrounded by shelves piled high with various shoes. Sneakers, boots, and sandals were everywhere but of course, Stephanie grabbed her hand and dragged her to the back where the more elegant shoes were. Because her dress was white, Rory had to pick out white shoes.

Rory tried to have a say and offer that she wear flats or something with a low heel, but of course, none of the others would let her even think about it. They pulled out pairs upon pairs of high heeled white shoes and most of them Rory didn’t like. But about fifteen pairs in, Rory found a pair she really liked. They were high, Rory had no problem with the height of the shoes. If she could dance for hours on point, then she could handle a pair of tall heels.

What caught her eyes was that they were strapped heels with strings that tied up around her ankle very similar to the pointe shoes that she dances in. With the help of Cass, Rory stood up and walked around in the shoes and the others smiled. “Well, that’s one less thing to worry about. Now, get those off so we can pay and get the next items on our list.”

“Next item? Do you mean to tell me that we aren’t done yet? Cass, I spent two hours trying on dresses and another hour trying to find shoes. What else could we need?” Rory asked, putting the heels back in the box and pulled her winter boots back on.

“Obviously, we need to accessorize. You can’t go out without any form of accessories, Rory. How many fancy things did you go to with Oliver and Dinha?” Stephanie asked, grabbing the box and paying for the shoes.

“I went to a lot of events, but Dinah was the one who helped me out and not a lot of people watch the Queens the way they watch the Waynes apparently,” Rory explained, grabbing the bag and followed as three other girls walked down the hall to try and find a jewelry store.

“What was it like growing up in Star City?” Cassandra asked, looking at Rory.

“Well, it was different than Gotham for sure, crime wasn’t as high so my parents felt a lot safer just taking a walk through the park. Like I was telling Tim the other day, I never snowed there and didn’t get as cold as it does here. But it does rain a lot.” she explained.

Thinking about Star City, she sure missed it. The people, the sights, the sounds, and the smells. But most of all, she was starting to miss Oliver and Dinah. This next birthday would be her first one without them in nine years and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

But on the plus side, she could spend her birthday with Tim for the first time in thirteen years. She told him not to make a big deal out of it, but she was still excited about it.

“Well it sure sounds nice, maybe we should take a girls’ trip across the country.” Steph said with a laugh “And leave the boys defenseless without us for a few days.”

“I don’t think they would last very long without Babs here, she keeps everyone in line when Alfred can’t. She’s like the momma bat.” Cass chuckled, making Barbara go a light shade of pink.

“Oh shut up.”

Walking into the jewelry store, they split up and looked around. Rory rubbed the bracelet on her wrist, maybe she could find something to match it? Quietly, she took a look around at the silver ensembles while the other three searched on their own. About twenty minutes in, Rory found a necklace and earring set that stuck out to her.

It was simple but gorgeous. It was a diamond necklace with a tear-dropped shaped diamond on the bottom and the earrings matched with the teardrop shape. Comparing it to her mother’s bracelet, she smiled softly. It matched almost too well.

Looking around, she found one of the store clerks and inquired about the set.

“This set is more meant for weddings, but what are you going for?” the clerk had asked.

“Well, I want something to match this bracelet.” she held out her wrist and showed it to the lady who looked it over with awe.

“This is beautiful, did someone special give it to you?” she asked. Rory shook her head.

“No, this was a gift to my mother from my father. It was their last anniversary gift before they died, since then I have barely taken it off,” she explained. “But the set, I need it for a formal event of sorts and my dress is white so would it still work?”

The lady thought about it for a moment and nodded. “Yeah, it would work well with the color white. Is there a specific date you need this?”

“Is it possible I can take this now? So I have it for when I need it?” Rory asked, not noticing the other three walk over to see what she was looking at.

“Oh Rory, that’s perfect! Tim would love it!” Steph said excitedly.

Rory let out a sigh, “Steph, I am not dressing up for Tim. I am dressing up for a ballet that he is taking me to.”

“Oh, you mean the Russian Ballet in two weeks? The Nutcracker opens on Christmas Eve right?” the clerk asked as she wrapped up the necklace set.

“It’s on Christmas Eve? That cheesy asshole. Of course, it would be on Christmas Eve wouldn’t it?” Rory laughed, making the others with her laugh as well.

After a little more talking with the clerk, Rory, and the girls were ready to head out. Finally done shopping for the ballet, Rory hoping to not have to do this again for a while. Walking out of the mall, the four of them found Alfred waiting for them outside with the limo.

“Did you find everything you need ladies?” he asked, opening the door and helped Barbara in first then the others.

“We did Alfred, Rory is going to look amazing at the ballet. Who knew she had such great taste?” Cass snickered. Rory had half a mind to slap her arm but stopped herself as she received a look from Alfred.

“Am I allowed to know Miss Cassandra?”

“No Alfred, you have to wait like everyone else does.” she laughed as Alfred shut the door behind them and got into the driver seat driving them back to the manor.

Somehow they managed to convince Alfred to pull through a driveway and they all got milkshakes and were laughing about the look on the poor drive-thru guy’s face with Bruce Wayne’s butler and four girls in the back seat giggling about something.

“How was the trip girls?” Bruce asked as they walked in, the bags from the mall hanging on Barbara’s wheelchair.

“It was great, Rory is going to make jaws drop and we freaked out a poor guy in the drive-through.” Steph laughed sipping her shake.

Bruce shook his head, “Well, at least you all had fun. Now, make sure you all are ready for patrol tonight.” he said and waved them off. Cass walked to the library with Barbara and Rory grabbed the bags with Stephanie and began to go up the stairs.

On their way up they saw Jason and Dick talking about some random topic, only for them to stop and see the bag. “So, what’d you get?” Dick asked.

“We’re not telling you boys,” Steph said as she pushed Rory away before she could tell them what she got.

“Aw, why not? It’s not like we are going to the ballet or anything. We’re curious.” Jason teased, following them.

“No way Todd, if we tell you, you will tell Tim and that would ruin the surprise.”

“Tell me what?” The four of them looked and saw Tim come down the hall holding a rather large mug of coffee.

“They won’t tell us what Rory got for the ballet,” Jason whined.

“Of course we’re not telling!” Stephanie then glared at Rory. “If you so much as breathe what you got, I will go back and get one of the other dressed and force you to wear it.” she threatened.

Knowing Steph, she would grab the pink one and make Rory suffer from all the movie references. “I promise, no breathing.” she grinned.

Stephanie gave her a hard glare, trying to keep herself from laughing. “You know what I meant Rory, now go hide the bags so no one can find them.” Rory gave her a salute and walked to her room to hide the bags leaving three very confused boys and a triumphant looking Stephanie.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Rory wasn’t sure what was going on, the next week was very weird. Everyone was avoiding her, even including Bruce and Alfred. It started the day after her mall trip with the girls, the boys decided to take a trip out as well and were gone most of the day. With them gone, the manor was unusually quiet. Normally there would be some form of screaming from the second floor because Damian was either trying to kill Jason or Tim, with Dick right behind him trying to stop a possible murder.

So instead, Rory had spent the day training with Cass to try and improve her skills. If she was as readable as Cass said she was, then there could be others who would try to use that against her. It was about three hours in when Rory was finally able to land a hit on Cass, and it took another two before she actually pinned her.

Apparently yelling in anger was a good distraction method.

When the boys had gotten back just before dinner, that was when Rory knew something was up. They all walked in with a few bags each and quickly made a break for the upstairs when Rory tried to speak to them.

The next day, Monday, they all avoided her still. Every time she walked into the room at least one of them would get up and leave and that someone was usually Tim or Jason which irritated her further.

Tuesday was even worse, now all four of them walked out of the room whenever she entered even during meals. At least she had Steph and the others right? Wrong.

Wednesday, Rory didn’t think it could get any worse oh but it did. That was the day that Stephanie and Barbara began to avoid her. It was starting to get on her nerves, what were they all up to, and did it not involve her?

Thursday was the day that Cass, Bruce, and Alfred all began to avoid her. Even when it was time to patrol Gotham, she was sent out on her own and left to work by herself. Needless to say, that patrol was boring without someone to pick on while she worked. When she arrived back early the next morning, no one was there waiting up for her.

Friday, she finally snapped. Since everyone began to avoid her, Rory decided not to leave her room for the entire day unless she was getting a drink or something to eat. She ate breakfast on her own, ate lunch on her own, trained on her own on the balcony, and even ate dinner on her own. If this is what they thought was a practical joke, Rory did not find it funny.

When she went to bed that night, she had forgotten all about what the next day was, she curled up and went straight to sleep.

The next morning she wasn’t woken by her alarm, instead, there was someone there trying to shake her awake slowly.“

"Rory, get up.” the voice whispered.

With a groan, Rory sat up and rubbed her eyes to see Jason there with a worried expression on his face. “Get up quickly, I need your help.”

“What? Are you finally speaking to me again? Wow, what is it my birthday?” she asked.

Jason rolled his eyes but still looked worried. “Seriously, I need your help. Get up and grab your robe.”

Rory gave him an annoyed look but she grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself and followed Jason down the stairs. “Are you sure you need my help? You haven’t needed it for the last week.”

“Will you just stop whining? This is important,” he said and led her into the kitchen.

“Jay will you please tell me why you decided to get me up at this unholy hour on a Saturday?” she asked as she followed him in.

Once she entered the kitchen, there stood everyone in the manor with a huge smile on their face as Tim held out a huge plate of chocolate chip waffles with chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top.

“Happy Birthday!”

Rory stood there in shock trying to process what exactly she was looking at. Glancing at her phone she realized what day it was and felt like an idiot. They all avoided her so they could plan out a fancy breakfast for her birthday, of course, that would make sense.

“Tim, I’m pretty sure I told you not to make a big deal out of it.”

“I’m pretty sure I ignored what you told me and did it anyway.” he grinned and handed her the plate. “Now eat up, I have some things planned and you are going to enjoy them.” he grinned and sat her down at the counter. Rory rolled her eyes and took a bite of the waffles, her eyes widening in delight.

“Woah, these are really good,” she muttered and ate them quickly. Everyone sat with her as they ate and talked quietly.

“So, once you are done Steph is taking you back upstairs and you are going to get dressed. It snowed a lot last night so she will make sure you stay warm.” Tim said and disappeared once he finished his food.

Rory gave the others a confused look, and they just shrugged. All they knew was that Tim was taking her out for the day but they had no idea what he had planned. Finishing her food, Stephanie grabbed her arm and dragged her up the stairs and back into her room.

Steph went straight for her closet and began to throw things out with a pair of snow boots thrown in too. Once she was finished, Steph then set it out so Rory could figure out what exactly she was wearing.

It consisted of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with a knitted Christmas sweater over it, and long fuzzy socks that stuck out over the snow boots. Once Rory was dressed, Steph then forced her to sit on a chair as she brushed and slightly curled her hair, much to Rory’s dismay. Once she was done, she carefully slid a woolen beanie on her head with a pompom on the top of it.

Rory looked at herself in the mirror and was actually impressed, she looked like one of those girls you would see in a Christmas movie. Stephanie then handed her a knee-length winter coat and a scarf with matching mittens. “You mess up my look, I’ll kick your ass.” she chuckled.

Rory held her hands up in defense. “Hey, I can’t make no promises. I’m accident prone remember?”

“Yeah yeah, now go downstairs before Tim decides to leave without you.” she chuckled and pushed Rory out and towards the stairs where Tim was talking to Dick and Jason quietly about something while he waited. Tim had a winter coat, boots, scarf, hat, and gloves on as well so that led Rory to believe that they were going out somewhere.

Tim was cut off when Dick pointed up the stairs where Rory was, putting on the scarf she held as she walked down. He smiled brighter as she got closer and helped her get the large coat on. “Think you’ll be warm enough?” he teased.

Rory glared at him, “Just because I feel like a walking marshmallow does not mean that I won’t kick your ass still.”

“Oh, but then you wouldn’t get your surprise.”

“Timothy Drake, if you spent so much as a penny on me-” he cut her off by covering her mouth with his hand.

“I am allowed to spend money on you, it’s your 21st birthday, and that only happens once. So you are going to shut up and let me spoil you okay?” Rory flipped him off in response, only making him laugh. “Leave it to you to find a way to insult me without speaking.”

He removed his hand from her mouth and opened the door. “After you.” Rory rolled her eyes with a slight blush and walked out the door with Tim right behind her. Alfred was waiting for them with Tim’s car outside this time and not a limo.

“You’re driving?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Jesus take the wheel.”

“Oh shut up and get in the car.” he laughed and took the keys from Alfred, before getting into the driver seat with Rory hopping into the passenger seat. Once they were buckled, Tim started the car and drove off towards town.

Rory looked out the window as Tim drove, and he was right. Overnight the amount of snow almost tripled outside and it looked gorgeous. Stephanie had also packed her sunglasses and now she knew why the snow was so bright with the morning sun she was almost blind so she put them on and looked at Tim who was already wearing his.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going dragon boy?” she asked, leaning back in her seat. Tim shook his head, making a turn into a parking garage where he pulled his car into a spot and turned off the car.

“No more questions until we get there.” he grinned and got out of the seat with Rory following him.

“Sometimes, you are insufferable Tim.” she laughed and walked with him, with her hands in her pockets as he led the way out of the garage and into the cold winter morning air. The two of them walked through town, where Christmas decorations were up and the air was crisp.

Rory’s nose was already pink and so were her cheeks, but she didn’t mind. Winter was her favorite time of year and she hadn’t seen snow in a very long time, forgetting just how breathtaking Gotham was in the wintertime.

Tim watched her look around with soft eyes and smiled, happy to see her so excited. He rarely saw this side of her, but he would do anything to keep it that way. Turning the corner to their destination, he saw her eyes light up at the sight.

In front of them was Gotham’s Christmas market. According to the internet, it was one of the biggest on the eastern seaboard and he wanted to take her to keep the tradition she made with Oliver and Dinah alive.

Rory was speechless, of course, he took her to a market. She only mentioned it once, but he paid attention, and that made Rory smile even more. Turning to look at her best friend, she saw that he was watching her. “What do you think?” he asked.

Rory jumped on him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. “I can’t believe you remembered, this is totally worth waking up early for.” she smiled brightly and grabbed his hand walking into the market to look around.

There were all sorts of things, booths upon booths selling different holiday items from around the world, and plenty of others selling different food and hot drinks. Rory walked with Tim, still holding his hand, and made their first stop at a drink booth that sold hot cups of gluhwein.

She ordered them both two cups and tried to pay, but Tim beat her to it saying that it was her birthday and he was paying. Not wanting to argue with him, she let him pay and sipped at the warm drink in her hands.

They walked around the streets looking at different booths as they sipped their drink talking about anything that came to mind. “So, how does Gotham’s Christmas market hold up to Star City’s?” Tim asked as he finished his cup.

Rory pondered the thought, “Well, it for sure is a lot bigger and there is a lot more to see.” she answered, taking the last sip of her drink and keeping the cup close to her wanting to add it to her collection she had back in Star City.

“But what makes it the best is that I get to spend my day with the most important person in my life,” she said looking at Tim who would have blushed if his face wasn’t already red from the cold.

“We can knock out our Christmas shopping here too.” she smiled and began to look around for gifts. Bruce’s was probably the easiest to find. It was a tree ornament with a Batman wearing a Santa hat. Tim laughed at the gift and told her to get it for him.

It was about an hour later and they had gifts for everyone but each other. It was hard to gift shop for someone who was right next to you. Rory paid attention to everything Tim looked at to see if it would be a good gift or not but to no avail. Tim wasn’t able to find her something either, but he did manage to find her a birthday present while at the market.

It was when Tim had walked off to look at something that Rory finally found the perfect Christmas gift for him. It was a small carving of a dragon guarding a princess and she knew instantly that it was the gift.

She quickly bought it and hid it in one of the other bags, barely managing to get it out of sight when Tim returned with a big grin on his face. “What is the purpose of your face dragon boy?” she laughed.

Tim chuckled and took her hand leading her over to a big open area where a skating rink was set up. “I got us tickets, so in about ten minutes we can go skate,” he said and pulled her over to where they put their bags and got their skate.

Looking at the rink, Rory saw multiple couples and families skating around the massive rink. She managed to get her skates on by herself, but she was worried to tell Tim that she wasn’t very good at ice skating. Seeing how excited he was, made her want to try again. Seconds later, Tim was up and leading her into the rink keeping a hold on her hand.

The second she got onto the ice, she almost slipped and took Tim down with her but he managed to skate around and catch her before she fell. “Have you ever ice skated before songbird?” he asked.

Rory gave him a slow nod, “But that doesn’t mean I was any good at it.”

“My ballerina best friend can do almost anything but ice skate? Now that is a story to tell.” he chuckled and kept a hold of both her hands. “Just follow me okay?”

Rory looked at him and nodded, keeping a tight grip on Tim. He began to skate backward still facing Rory as she watched their feet to make sure she didn’t slip again. Tim let out a soft chuckle and pulled her a little closer and let got of a hand to lift her chin so she was looking at him.

“Look at me, not the ground, you need to see where you’re going.” he chuckled and took her hand again.

Rory let out a flustered huff, “Easy for you to say, you’re skating backward and still managing to not hit anything.”

Tim laughed, which made Rory laugh. She laughed hard enough that she tripped and fell and this time dragged Tim down with her, who landed on top of her with a groan. “You okay?” he asked brushing the loose hair out of her face.

Rory laughed, giving him a nod. “Note to self, wear extra padding if I ever decide to go skating again.” The two of them on the floor were getting a lot of looks, but neither of them was paying attention. Carefully Tim got up and pulled Rory with him.

Somehow, they managed to make it through the rest of their time without falling again and it was a surprise to Rory. Sitting on the bench, she took off her skates and pulled her boots back on, Tim doing the same. Once they left the skating rink, it was around lunchtime so the two of them stopped in a small café and ordered coffee and a sandwich.

Taking off their winter coats, they set the bags they had gotten under the table and sat by the window. The coffee was a perfect idea, especially since they were out in the freezing air for so long. But this was the moment Rory really looked at Tim. His shaggy black hair was sticking out of his hat and his hands were grasped tightly around his cup as he held his nose close to it, smelling the aroma.

Rory watched his eyes scan the area, even when they weren’t working Rory knew that Tim never stopped. He never wanted something to happen to Rory and Rory would never want him hurt due to their lack of spatial awareness.

She watched as he looked at her and their eyes met, Rory had never noticed before but Tim’s eyes were a dark shade of blue in contrast to Dick’s who’s was brighter and Jason’s almost seemed inhumanly blue from the pit.

Tim tilted his head, noticing that she was watching him. “Hey, you alright Rory?” he asked.

She broke out of her trance and nodded. “Yeah, just lost in thought.” she smiled and ate the last of her sandwich. They finished their food and coffee before heading out again, this time with their arms linked keeping them close together.

The next several hours were spent with them walking around the market and looking at different shops. The sun was beginning to set and it was getting close to dinner when they decided to walk back to Tim’s car and head home. Once in the car, he turned on the heater and blasted it through the vehicle, hoping to warm their frozen bodies.

The drive back was quiet, but it was comfortable. The two of them let their thoughts drift about the amazing day they had and neither of them wanted it to end. Tim pulled up to the manor and parked his car outside and turned it off and looked at Rory. “So, what did you think?”

Rory turned to look at him with a big smile. “This was the best day I’ve had in a long time. Thanks for taking me to the market dragon boy.” she leaned over and kissed his cheek before hopping out of the car and started to walk to the steps up to the main doors.

But Tim had other ideas. He got out of the car and looked at her. “Hey Sonnet!” he called.

Rory was about to go up the steps when she turned to look at him, only to be met with a cold snowball to the head. “Hey! That’s not cool! Shots to the head are cheap!” she laughed and quickly grabbed a snowball and threw it at him, hitting Tim square in the face.

“And I take cheap shots?” he laughed and grabbed another, throwing it at her as she ran this time hitting her in the thigh.

Rory let out a squeal and threw another and again hitting Tim in the face before trying to hide behind one of the bushes. Tim saw her run and hide behind it so he quietly walked over to where she was hiding and came up behind and grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifted her up.

Rory shrieked in surprise and tried to wiggle out of Tim’s hold but to no avail. “Put me down you savage!”

Tim laughed and set her down, Rory still in his arms turned to look at him. “Tim, come on.” she giggled.

“You said to put you down, not to let you go. Didn’t I do what I was told?” he grinned.

Rory gave him a look a tried to wiggle out of his hold still with a laugh as Tim kept her close to him. Somewhere in the middle, their feet slip out from under them and they fell into the cold snow. Rory looked down at Tim, her laughter dying down.

“How are you such a clutz?” he chuckled, looking up at the beautiful girl on top of him.

“It’s all of the snow. I haven’t seen it since I was seven and now it wants revenge.” she giggled looking down at him. Tim’s beanie had fallen off in the snowball fight and his hair was everywhere. Rory smiled softly and looked at his smile, again she was drawn to his lips.

Tim stared back at her, a hand holding her waist and the other to her cheek he brushed her loose hair back again felt himself be pulled in. Rory was leaning down towards him but her eyes darted up and she bit back a grin.

Before Tim could ask, Rory got a handful of snow and shoved it into his face with a laugh, and got up quickly heading to the doors of the manor with Tim right behind her. The doors opened to reveal Alfred was waiting there for them. “Why are the two of you so wet?” he asked.

“Tim thought it would be a good idea to start a snowball fight. Of course, I won.” Rory grinned, making Tim scoff behind her. Rory walked in with Tim following behind her.

“You cheated and made us both trip and fall in the snow.”

“It’s not my fault you are such a clutz.” she grinned, throwing his own words back at him as she shed off her winter coat, hat, scarf, and mittens; Tim doing the same.

“I’m the clutz? That means you’re the master ice skater then yeah?” Rory nodded. “Of course, I am better than you after all.” she grinned. Tim’s smile only got bigger with her joke, he was such a sucker for her.

“Sure whatever you say songbird.” he chuckled and they carried their bags up to their rooms to hide them before Christmas. Coming back down the stairs, Rory noticed that everyone was nowhere to be found. Maybe they were in the dining room.

The two of them walked to the dining room where the lights were off. Rory was really confused now, wasn’t it dinner time? She flipped on the light and was taken back.

Everyone jumped out and yelled ‘Surprise’!

Rory jumped where she stood and Tim had to steady her so she didn’t fall over. She looked back at him. “Was this your doing?” she demanded.

“Not completely, it was a team effort.” he chuckled and the two of them walked in. Rory looked around, the dining room was decorated with a large banner hanging with the words 'Happy Birthday Rory!’ on it.

But the best surprise she saw waiting for her at the back of the room. There stood not just Oliver and Dinah, but Roy, Jesse, Kori, and Lena, or as everyone discovered was Helena Bertinelli. Quickly she ran over and hugged Oliver tightly, as he wrapped her arms around him.

“Happy Birthday sweetheart.” he smiled and held her tight. He let go and Dinah quickly pulled her into a hug.

“How did you guys get here?” she asked, looking at all of them.

“Well, when we got a call from a certain friend of yours we decided that we could take a day to come see you on your birthday.” Roy smiled, leaning against the wall. Rory looked down the line and waved at Kori and Helena who she hadn’t seen in almost a year.

Walking over she hugged them both, “Happy Birthday Rory.” Helena said with a smile.

Jason was next to them with a confused look on his face. “How do you know Helena?”

“We dated for a couple of months.” Rory shrugged.

“How many of my friends did you date princess?” he asked.

“I don’t know, how many friends do you have?” she grinned and bumped him. He rolled his eyes and gave her a side hug. “Happy Birthday.”

Not much later, dinner was served and it was her favorite, beef stroganoff, and after everyone ate they all retired to the living room where they all gave Rory their presents. A new set of arrows from Roy (he knew how fast she ran out of arrows and lost them), an unmeltable ice sculpture of a snowflake from Jesse (because apparently he was Elsa and could do that sort of thing), a ring from Kori’s home planet (it glowed a bright green once it was on her finger), a new arm and finger guard from Helena (again, either Rory kept losing them or they wore out from her shooting all the time), and a brand new bow from Oliver and Dinah. It had been refitted with some of Bruce’s tech and it was better than ever (it had a scope and laser and everything).

From the Wayne residents she had received, new winter attire from Barbara, Stephanie, and Cassandra (Because apparently graphic tees and jeans are not acceptable), a katana from Damian that had her name in Arabic engraved into it (who knew he could be so thoughtful), a book about the history of ballet from Dick (he said that he thought of her when he was at the mall earlier that week), a red leather jacket from Jason (he said that she needed more red in her life), thermal lining in her suit from Bruce (someone blabbed that she almost froze the week before but Rory was grateful none the less), and an old vintage teacup that was made in England from Alfred (he enjoyed sharing afternoon tea with her).

The last gift she received was from Tim. He had given her not just an original VHS release of _My Fair Lady,_ but the theatrical poster along with an Eliza Doolittle collector’s doll and a copy of the original playbill from the first-ever Broadway production of the show starring Julie Andrews. Rory turned to look at her friend with her jaw dropped.

“How the hell did you manage to get all this?”

“Us Waynes have our ways you know.” he grinned. Rory leaned over and hugged him tightly. The night ended on a happy note and one by one everyone filtered out of the living room leaving just Rory and Tim there with a cup of hot chocolate to enjoy a movie of her choosing.

The two of them sat on the floor leaning against one another watching the credits roll from _My Fair Lady_ and enjoyed the quiet and the company of the person with them. Tim had been debating on when to give Rory her final present and this seemed like the right time. It was something more personal and he wanted to give it to her in private.

“What do you think of your 21st birthday?” he asked, looking down at the girl who was curled up into his side and sipping her hot chocolate.

“Well, considering you didn’t spend the day trying to get me drunk since I am of legal age I’d say really good. This was one of the best days of my life, and I got to spend it with you.” she looked up at him and smiled.

“Well, I have one more surprise for you,” he said. Rory’s heart sped up at his words, what was he talking about?

Rory watched as Tim pulled out a small bag she recognized from the market earlier that day. Carefully she took it, aware of how close they were. Tim moved closer to Rory to the point their noses were almost touching and watched as she slowly unwrapped it.

Rory gasped as she looked at the item in her hand. It was a rose carved out of wood, the paint made it look like stained glass, and under one of the leaves was the message:

_“To my Briar Rose, Happy Birthday._

_-Love, your Dragon Boy”_

Rory’s eyes welled up and she fought to keep them from falling. She looked up at Tim, her nose brushing his. “I love it, Tim,” she said softly her eyes not leaving his. Tim smiled down at her and glanced down at her lips as she bit them slowly. As the two of them leaned closer, Rory’s mind was going a million miles a minute. She was about to kiss Tim, did she want to? Yes.

Should she? No, she shouldn’t want to kiss Tim what was wrong with her? He was her best friend and she couldn’t betray that. Taking a deep breath to hide the rapid beating of her heart she looked back at the rose in her hand, missing the slight frown on Tim’s face.

“This truly is the best birthday I’ve had, thank you Tim.” she kissed his cheek and got up and left the living room before running off to her room afraid that she would turn back and try to kiss him again.

Once she was safely behind her door, she leaned against it and slid to the floor clutching the wood rose to her chest. Her fingers ran over the words _'Love, your Dragon Boy’_ multiple times, and she couldn’t avoid the tight feeling in her chest. She knew what that was, and Rory had been trying to avoid it all day but seeing those words shattered her defenses.

Rory was falling in love with her dragon boy, and she was falling hard.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

It was the week before Christmas, and everyone in Wayne Manor was in full holiday mode. Dick and Stephanie were singing carols at the top of their lungs, Jason not so politely telling them that they sounded worse than Damian trying to tell a joke. Of course, Cass and Rory took it upon themselves to deck out Barbara’s wheelchair with red and green tinsel and battery-powered lights so she was a rolling spectacle wherever she went.

Alfred had taken it upon himself to start baking on the 20th and also to start decorating the manor all on his own. Of course, everyone else was not happy with this idea. With some miraculous convincing on Bruce’s part, they managed to get Alfred to go to the store and get some stuff they wanted for Christmas Dinner. Alfred knew more than anyone that when you had more than three people attending you needed to start days ahead with the prep work.

While he was gone, they managed to decorate the foyer. They had just barely gotten the tree together when Alfred came in the door and looked close to tears, of course, he refused to let them direct how the tree looked because he wanted it to look decent.

After spending an hour decorating the tree, most of the manor was ready for Christmas. Naturally, multiple people completely forgot to do their shopping except for Rory, Tim, Alfred, and surprisingly Jason. They all got a kick out of watching the other scramble from store to store to try and find gifts. Even Damian was trying to find something decent for his family, after all, Christmas was a special time.

Everyone in fact was so busy, that no one noticed just how odd Tim and Rory were acting. Well, no one except Jason and Cass who just so happens to be the most observant people in the whole manor besides Tim and Rory. What started out as simple flirting turned into some of the most adorable yet cringe-worthy acts either of them had seen. It began with Tim and Rory just casually flirting with the other, and quickly turning red and looking away. That was the first sign that something had happened on Rory’s birthday.

The second sign was that literally every time their hands touched both of them would freeze and drop whatever it was they were holding. Several of Tim’s mugs had been the casualty of this happening and Alfred began to hide the good china after cleaning up five of the mugs.

It was the 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve, and the ballet that Jason finally decided to do something about this. Watching them skirt around each other was both adorable and irritating to the point that Dick was starting to notice and he was pretty oblivious when it came to love, especially with himself.

He was helping Rory wrap her presents to everyone, except his own because that would ruin the surprise when he noticed what she had gotten Tim. “Rory, I have a question and you need to answer it honestly. If you lie, I will douse you in ice water and throw you outside to freeze.”

Rory lifted her head from wrapping Bruce’s gift to look at him. “That’s a little morbid, I would expect that from Damian more than you.” she chuckled.

“We all know Damian would not do anything to hurt you, for some reason he seems to like you. Maybe it’s because you tried to kill Tim.” he chuckled softly at the memory.

“Yeah, maybe that’s why. But I will answer your question to the best of my ability,” she responded and turned in her spot on the floor to look at him.

“Alright.” Jason set down the gift he was wrapping and looked her straight in the eye. “Are you in love with Tim?”

Rory’s eyes widened and her face started to heat up. “I don’t have to answer that.”

Jason grinned “But you said you would, and you can’t lie to me. Besides, whether or not you answer my question doesn’t matter. Your reaction was all the confirmation I needed.”

Rory huffed and went back to wrapping, her hands fidgety from her flustered state. “It doesn’t matter if I am or not. We’re friends, I don’t want to ruin that.” she kept wrapping, wanting to get it done before she went on patrol that night to make up for Christmas Eve.

“It does matter because it’s obvious.” Jason prodded. “Don’t you think you should tell him?”

Rory shook her head. “I can’t. He doesn’t think of me like that so it would just make things awkward between us.”

Jason stared at her in disbelief, things weren’t awkward enough as it was? He ran a hand through his hair, the white streak contrasting against the natural black of his hair, and let out a sigh. He opened his mouth to tell her different when there was a knock at the door.

“Rory, I know you are wrapping in there so I won’t come in. But I need to head out sooner than later, Cobblepott’s men are popping up in different locations and I need several of you to keep an eye on them.” Bruce said from the other side.

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll be ready to go.” She called and shoved the presents under her bed and took off for the Batcave, leaving Jason in her room with an exasperated look on his face. Did she really just up and leave him sitting there, were they not in the middle of a conversation? Jason rubbed his face and got up. She was almost as bad as Tim was at avoiding things, they really were made for each other, weren’t they?

Running down, she threw on her suit and walked over to where Tim, Barbara, Damian, Cass, Steph, Dick, and Bruce were all waiting. Jason was coming down the stairs still. “So these are the locations, Dick, you and Cass are going to keep an eye downtown, Steph is taking Amusement Mile, Jason is taking the east, Tim the west, Rory the central part of town. Damian and I will be taking the north part of the city. Let’s try and keep everyone in one piece for Christmas okay? Alfred might have a cow if someone came back hurt.” Bruce explained.

Everyone nodded and got onto their bikes and took off into the night, Rory making her way to the central part of town which happened to be Robinson Park. Parking her bike out of sight, Grey Arrow took to the trees. All the skyscrapers were too far for her to hear or see properly and thanks to the new thermal lining she was not going to freeze.

She jumped through them silently, before coming to a stop where she saw a group of men standing there talking. Since she was close enough, Grey Arrow didn’t have to use any special gadget to listen in.

“So why exactly does Cobblepott want us here? It’s cold as shit, my arms are going to fall off.” One asked, shivering in his spot.

“He wants us to make sure that goods we have stashed here are safe from any prying bats. Did you forget that Red Robin set off the bomb in the boss’s warehouse? Lucky for us the basement wasn’t harmed, but if we mess this one up we’re fucked.” another replied, adjusting the gun slung across his body.

So they still had things in storage for Ivy then? This was news to her, and probably news to Batman. She was about to report this in when Grey Arrow heard something behind her. Turning on her heel, she aimed an arrow at the person who turned out to be her absolute favorite villain in the world.

Poison Ivy stepped off the vine that brought her up to Grey Arrow’s level and smiled seductively at her. “Good to see you again, my dear.”

“I would say the feeling is mutual, but you did drug me that last time we met,” Arrow replied, not lowering her bow in the slightest.

“You were the one that told me to, in order to spare your lover am I correct?” she asked, looking at the snow-covered tree they were currently perched on.

“Red Robin is not my lover, we’re just coworkers.” She tried to keep her face neutral, but Ivy saw through her façade.

“My dear, the toxin you were under was not just some form of ecstasy. After it took effect, it would make you act on the deepest desire of your heart and even I can see what that was. The two of you are not very good at hiding your feelings for the other.” Ivy’s eyes traveled down Grey Arrow’s body. Even now, she could see the way Arrow held herself. The second she mentioned him to be her lover, Arrow had stiffened up. Her tone got sharper and watched her expression darken.

Grey Arrow was speechless, Tim wasn’t ever clear about what had happened while she was drugged but she wasn’t about to take Ivy’s word for what did actually happen. The woman was a supervillain for crying out loud.

“Your silence tells me that you aren’t aware of what happened. I admit once the toxin wears off it gives you amnesia but you should ask that pretty bird of yours what truly happened.” she grinned and stepped back on the vine and began to lower herself back to the ground.

“I am never wrong when it comes to love my dear.” and with that Ivy was gone.

Grey Arrow stood there in shock, she had blocked out all outside noise trying to calm her thoughts. There was no way in hell Tim had feelings for her, she would have noticed right?

_“Arrow, if you don’t answer me in 30 seconds I’m coming to find you.”_

With this Rory snapped out of her shock “Sorry Bats, I was busy. What happened?”

Batman’s voice sounded through the com once more. _“I had asked if you found out anything from Cobblepott’s men.”_

“They have something stashed here, probably close to my location. They moved it to Robinson Park after a certain someone blew up their warehouse.”

 _“How many times do I have to apologize for that?”_ Red Robin said.

“Until I decide that you don’t. You better keep on apologizing bird boy.” she chuckled and looked back to Cobblepott’s men who were gone. They must have slipped away when Ivy paid her a visit, thinking about it that was probably why.

Looking at the ground, she saw their footprints head north towards the exit so she followed them carefully keeping an eye out for anything to happen. The trail ended at what seemed to be a small bunker hidden in the bushes almost invisible with all the snow around it. Grey Arrow would have missed it if it weren’t for the footsteps leading her to it.

Pressing her com she called Batman again. “Hey Bats, I think I found their new stash. It’s a small bunker hidden in bushes. I’m placing a small tracker here so we can find it. The snow makes it hard to see, I only found it because the idiots left a trail for me to follow.”

_“Good work, head back to the cave and we can talk more there.”_

Grey Arrow gave a hum of confirmation and made her way back to her bike, her mind not leaving what Ivy had said. The deepest desire of her heart? It was getting her family back, it had to be. That’s the only thing she had wanted for years, so what did Tim have to do with anything?

Once she was back in the cave, Rory took off her mask and sat in a chair twirling an arrow in her hand. Barbara was the only one there, with the others still out working. Sensing that Rory did not want to talk, she left her alone and kept an eye on things.

One by one, the others began to arrive back in the cave and each of them saw Rory in her chair twirling an arrow in thought. The look on her face showed that she was deep in thought and decided it was best that they didn’t bother her, afraid she would stab them with the arrow.

Rory was still caught on Ivy’s words about the deepest desire of her heart when Tim finally walked in. He got off his bike and took off the cowl, his hair slightly damp from sweat and his face red from the cold. Her eyes raked over his body, lingering on his arms and chest where she could see the faint outlines of his muscle and it was then when it clicked.

The deepest desire of her heart was getting her parents back, but some time between arriving at Wayne Manor, and this moment it had changed. What she wanted more than anything was her best friend to love her as she did him.

“So I met an old friend of ours while I was out,” she said, as Tim walked past her to get a cup of coffee.

“An old friend?” he chuckled. “Who?”

“Poison Ivy.”

Tim almost spat out his coffee, what the hell was Rory doing with Poison Ivy? “She didn’t kiss you again, did she?”

Rory shook her head, still twirling the arrow. “No, instead she wanted to talk. Tim, what exactly did I do when I was drugged?” She quit spinning the arrow and turned her eyes to look at him with a hard stare.

Tim met her gaze and almost gulped. He had been dreading this question more than anything, how was he to tell her that she tried to seduce him and gotten damn near close to it? “I thought I told you, it was Ivy toxin. You were acting pretty crazy.” he stuttered.

The few who were left in the cave glanced at the two of them in interest. What did Tim mess up this time, and was Rory going to beat him up for it?

“Crazy how, Tim?” she got up, the arrow still in her hand walked over stopping right in front of him. Tim stared down at her, hoping she couldn’t hear the rapid beating of his heart, and swallowed.

“Now Rory, don’t freak out.” he started.

“Tell me, Timothy. What did I do?” she snapped, gripping the arrow in her hand tighter.

Tim let out a long sigh, “It was after I left you to get changed and I changed myself. I came back and you were different, there was a certain look in your eyes and I couldn’t figure out what it was until you tried to seduce me.”

“I gathered that much had happened, I want to know what I did.”

“Geez Rory, do I have to recount everything? You kissed me and tried to get me to sleep with you. You would have if I didn’t sedate you.”

The cave was dead quiet and Rory’s grip faltered, the arrow clattering to the floor with a loud crash that echoed off the cave walls.

“And you didn’t think to tell me this?” she asked quietly, her eyes not leaving his.

“I didn’t know how, I-” Rory didn’t hear the rest of his sentence before she took off out of the cave and ran up to the manor.

There was no way in hell Tim held any kind of feelings like that towards her. He couldn’t, she was a terrible person. If he knew of the things she did, Tim would change the way he thought of her in fact it’s what ended her relationship with Jesse. She hid things from him and he couldn’t be with someone who kept major secrets from him, it was only a year ago the two of them had gotten on better terms.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Tim come after her. His legs were longer and had more muscle to them, so he managed to catch up to her before she got to her room. As she was opening her door Tim managed to get in before she could shut him out.

Grabbing her shoulders, he pinned her to the door making it slam shut. “You are going to stand there and listen to me Aurora Sonnet.” he panted, noting the look of shock on her face.

“Tim please,” she said quietly, only for him to cover her mouth with his hand.

“No, you are going to listen, and then you can speak. I didn’t know how to tell you without telling you how I felt.” Rory’s eyes widened at his words, this is what she was afraid of.

“Rory, I’ve loved you since the day you came back into my life. The day you kissed me still rings in my head, and I can’t get it to stop. I love everything about you, how caring you are, how strong you are; I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you.” he said, his eyes not leaving Rory’s.

“To me you are perfect and I can’t see you as anything but that. It kills me on the inside, how much I love you knowing that you don’t feel the same for me but that doesn’t mean I will stop.”

Tim then took his hand off her mouth and Rory was silent, she stared at him with wide eyes unsure of what to say. He just confessed that he loved her, and he thought she didn’t feel the same for him but boy was he wrong.

Rory loved him with all she had and wanted nothing more than to be with him. But she couldn’t, Tim was too good for her, too pure. She would ruin him like she ruined everything else, and Rory wouldn’t be able to live with herself if that happened.

“Tim…” she dropped her gaze and looked at the floor. “Tim, I can’t. I’m not good, there are so many things you don’t know about me. I’m not the same girl you knew as a kid, I’ve done terrible things that I’m afraid to tell you because you’ll end up hating me.”

Tim grabbed her chin and made her look up at him. “You think I care about all of that? I know who you are on the inside, I’ve seen it. Rory, you are one of the most caring people I know. Everyone here loves and cares about you, why can’t you see that?”

“I don’t deserve you, I can’t let myself love you without thinking that I’m going to ruin everything. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me.” she leaned into his hand and closed her eyes, trying to hide the tears.

“I don’t care, I’m not going to let you push me away Rory. Let me prove it please?” he begged, leaning his forehead against hers. “Let me show you how much I love you, Songbird.”

Rory’s breathing was hard and ragged, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. She wanted to say yes, god did she want to say yes. Rory opened her eyes, looking up into his, and saw the pleading behind them. For once, could she let herself be selfish and get what she wanted? Her whole life was spent trying to help others, it’s what came with the mask of a hero.

The air was tense and silent except for their heavy breathing, still tired from running. At this moment, there was nothing more Rory wanted than Tim. To feel him, touch him, love him, Rory wanted all he could give her.

Slowly, she reached a hand up and stroked his cheek with her thumb. Tim placed his hand over hers and leaned into her hand kissing her palm. Gripping the collar of his suit, she pulled him towards her and placed her lips on his.

At this, Tim wrapped his arms around her middle keeping her close to him as he kissed her back, trapping her against the door. Rory’s hands rubbed his chest through his suit as she kissed him, making him lean closer into the kiss. Her hands traveled up to his head and tangled themselves in his messy hair.

Groaning against her lips, Tim’s grip on her tightened. This was so much better than the first time he kissed her, it drove him crazy. His hands traveled up her back, wanting to feel her as he pressed her against his chest.

A knock on the door sounded through the room, making Rory and Tim pull apart.

“Is everything okay? The others are worried you actually killed him this time Rory.” Dick’s voice came from the other side.

“I’m still alive,” Tim said with a chuckle and looked down at Rory who was trying to hide her giggles.

“That’s good to hear, remember to use protection!” Dick called and quickly ran down the hall, afraid that one of them would come after him. At his comment, Tim’s face went bright red making Rory giggle.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and seduce you again. At least not right now.” Rory said and slid out of Tim’s hold, and went to her closet leaving him at the door with a flustered look on his face.

When she came out in shorts and a shirt, she sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her. Tim obliged and sat with her, his cape hanging over the side of the bed. Rory turned to face him as he cupped her face in his hands. “Rory, please give this a chance,” he whispered, looking at her.

“Tim, all my past relationships ended because of me. With Kori, I was too busy and then she had to leave for her homeworld and didn’t know when she would come back so I ended it. Lena, we were too much alike that we fought more often than not so I left because I didn’t want to hurt her any more than I already did. Jesse, I kept too many secrets from him and he couldn’t trust me after that. Roy and I dated for literally 12 hours, we quit because it was too weird for us. I don’t want to ever hurt you like that, it would kill me if I were to ever cause you pain like that.” she explained.

Tim listened to her words, but he didn’t care. He knew that she held secrets, dark ones at that but he wasn’t going to let that change what he thought about her. He could see why she got along with Jason so well, they both had a dark past and did things they weren’t proud of but would do it again in a heartbeat to protect those they love and that’s what mattered most to Tim.

“I know you have your secrets, but I would never push you to tell me unless I worried for your safety. With this life, it’s hard to do it with a high moral code. There are times when we have to make a hard decision and that doesn’t mean you are any worse of a person because of those. Some day when you decide to tell me, I will still love you all the same.”

Rory looked up at him and gave him a nod. “Alright, I’ll give this a chance Tim-” before she could finish, Tim cut her off with another kiss this one more gentle but she could feel the excitement behind it.

With a giggle, she pulled out of the kiss. “You didn’t let me finish, dragon boy.”

“Mm, that may be true but I would much rather kiss you Briar Rose.” he grinned pecking her lips once more.

Rory rolled her eyes, “You ever say that in front of the others I will tell them just how much of a romantic cheesy sap you really are.” she threatened. Tim held up a hand with three fingers out. “Scout’s honor, songbird.” he grinned.

Rory smiled at him, pulled him close, and kissed him once more.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

When Rory woke on Christmas Eve, she had a big smile on her face. Both she and Tim decided that if he was seen leaving her room in the morning, it would give the family the idea that something had happened that night when it didn’t. Of course, Dick probably blabbed to everyone that she and Tim were alone in her room but that was beside the point.

Glancing over she saw the bag that held her dress she was wearing to the ballet later that night, and her smile grew bigger. Rory was beyond excited about it and was even more excited to share it with Tim. She stretched out with a yawn and got out of bed, and grabbed her Grinch robe throwing it on.

She stepped out of her room and went down to the kitchen for breakfast, the sweet aroma of baked goods filling the air. Pushing the door Rory entered the kitchen and saw an amazing breakfast set on the table complete with eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and pancakes. There were several stacks of pancakes in various shapes like a Christmas tree, gingerbread men, candy canes, stars, and Rory’s favorite ballerinas.

Grabbing a bit of each, Rory sat in an open seat and ate with a mug of hot chocolate that had marshmallows and a candy cane in it. It wasn’t long after that Tim came in and sat with her and began to eat the food on his plate.

Somehow, neither of them noticed everyone’s eyes follow them from the door and to their seats, squinting at how close they were sitting together. It wasn’t until Rory had finished half of her food that she noticed everyone watching her, more specifically Jason, Steph, and Dick who were across from them at the table.

“What are you three staring at?” she asked, her mouth full of pancakes.

“What do you think we are staring at?” Stephanie asked, her eyes shifting between Rory and Tim who almost seemed too calm considering what happened the night before. Tim looked up from his food and looked at them in confusion.

“Do we have something on our face?” Tim asked as he and Rory looked at each other to see if they had syrup or grease on them.

“You guys are awfully close,” Dick said, sipping from his mug.

“We usually are this close Dick, what’s your point?” Rory asked.

“You guys seem almost too comfortable with each other.” Jason tried, hoping one of them would talk.

“Again, you act like this is new Jaybird,” Tim said shoving more food in his mouth.

“We clearly need to address the elephant in the room,” Steph said, trying to hint at what the three of them were wondering. Where they together or not?

“Now that you mention it, sure,” Rory said, leaning back in her seat. “Is it just me, or is Damian in an unusually cheery mood?”

“I was wondering the same thing, I’ve been down here for twenty minutes now and he has yet to insult me.” Tim looked over at Damian who was quietly sipping his hot chocolate.

“Don’t get used to it Drake, once it’s the 26th I’ll go back to insulting you.”

Dick, Jason, and Stephanie were about to explode. How the hell were both Rory and Tim avoiding the topic so well? When Dick returned to the cave, he had said that Tim was alive and well in Rory’s room with the door shut and that he heard her giggling a little. Something had to have happened, for them to be so casual around each other.

After watching them for a few more minutes, Jason finally said something. “Did you guys have sex and are acting completely normal about it?”

At his words, both Rory and Tim almost choked on their food. “Master Jason, that is not how you talk at the table.” Alfred scolded.

“Sorry Alfie, but is no one else wondering the same thing? You two disappeared last night and we didn’t see either of you until this morning. Tell me that isn’t the least bit suspicious.” he claimed, taking some more bacon from the plate.

“Did you even bother to check Tim’s room last night? Because if you did, then you would have seen him there the entire night. We talked, he left and I went to sleep; is that what you want to hear princess?” Rory asked, raising a brow at him.

“Damnit, guys! Are you together or not!?” Dick said loudly.

Rory and Tim looked at each other. “I don’t know, are we?” she questioned.

Tim pondered the thought before answering, “Maybe? We weren’t very clear on that part. I asked you to give me a chance and you said yes.” he then looked at his brothers and Steph. “Does that count?”

Jason facepalmed so hard, Cassandra and Bruce heard it on the other side of the table and gave a wince. These two were the biggest idiots he had ever met, how the hell did you not know if you were in a relationship with someone or not?

“Yes Tim, that counts!” He cried, looking at the two of them with a crazed look. “How can both of you be unsure if you are together or not?” Jason rubbed his face “You guys really are meant for each other.”

Tim and Rory shrunk back in their seats. “I didn’t know we had to report everything to you, princess,” she said.

“Of course you do!” He was about to say more when Bruce cleared his throat.

“While I’m glad the two of you are finally together, we need to discuss something.” he started. Rory and Tim looked at each other before they looked back at Bruce with worried eyes. He wasn’t going to do what they were hoping he wouldn’t, right?

“While you are under my roof, there will be a few ground rules regarding your intimacy.”

Welp, there it was. Bruce Wayne was really trying to give them the talk at breakfast on Christmas Eve.

Rory quickly got up and put her plate in the sink. “Oh my god Bruce, I hate to ruin your fatherly moment here but Oliver beat you to this like seven years ago now and I doubt his house rules are much different than yours. So I’m going to leave, and the rest of you can suffer.” she kissed the top of Tim’s head. “Have fun.” and she quickly left the awkward situation, leaving her boyfriend there to suffer alone.

She walked back to her room and got dressed in a Star Wars Christmas sweater that had wookies and Yoda’s for the pattern and pants and fuzzy socks. Rory had always froze easy, so the extra winter clothes she got on her birthday came in handy. Looking around, she decided that this was probably a good time to move her presents from under her bed to the tree in the living room where they would be unwrapped in the morning.

Leaving her room, she saw Stephanie had managed to sneak out of Bruce’s talk and was also carrying down the presents she had gotten everybody. Rory sent her a smiled and followed her down the stairs where they could faintly hear Bruce’s voice from the dining room.

Poor Tim, and any other person still trapped in there.

“So you’re letting me do your hair right?”

Rory turned her attention to Stephanie again. “Huh?”

“You’re letting me do your hair, and Babs and Cass are doing your makeup right?” Steph asked again, making it sound more like a statement than a question.

“Of course, you know I can’t do more than a simple ponytail. Why would I dare try to deprive you guys of this opportunity?” she chuckled and glanced at the door to the dining room again. “Other than you, who made it out before he got started?”

“Just me and Cass, between us she is totally his favorite so he probably let it slide,” Steph whispered making the two of them giggle.

Not wanting to get dragged back into it, the two of them walked back up and into Rory’s room. Stephanie wanted to hear all the juicy gossip about Rory and Tim’s apparently ‘unknown’ relationship and how they managed to make it official and unofficial at the same time.

 _Holiday Inn_ was playing in the background, and they were munching on Rory’s secret stash of shortbread cookies when Steph finally brought the subject up. “So, what exactly happened last night?”

Rory looked at her, half a cookie hanging out of her mouth. “We didn’t sleep together if that’s what you’re asking. Tim and I aren’t ready for that step yet, but we did talk.”

“What was it that Poison Ivy said to you that had you so wigged out last night? You were twirling an arrow in your hand with a somewhat menacing look on your face,” she asked, biting into another cookie.

“Oh, well the menacing look is kind of natural when I’m thinking.” she chuckled. “But um, when she drugged me Ivy said that the toxin was not ecstasy, it made me act on the deepest desire of my heart.”

“That would explain why you ran off, Ivy knew what you wanted before you even knew yourself. That’s kind of deep coming from a supervillain.” she chuckled.

Rory let out a laugh, “That’s what I thought as well, but I always thought that getting my parents back was what I wanted the most. After figuring out that it was Tim I wanted more than anything I didn’t know what to do. I also did not expect him to follow me either.”

“You should have seen him, once it registered that you left the cave he bolted after you not even bothering to change. He really cares about you, Rory.” Steph smiled.

“He told me he loves me, and I know how I feel about him but I’m just so scared to admit it to him. It makes it real, and that’s one more person I risk losing in this fucked up life of mine. I can’t lose him, Steph.”

Stephanie watched as Rory bared her heart out to her, she really did love Tim back but hasn’t told him. 'Rory, Tim is probably the most patient guy I know. Trust me, we dated a few years ago and he is patient then. If you told him what you told me, then he knows how much you care for him and would wait a thousand years if he had to. I see the way he looks at you when you aren’t paying attention, the only thing that comes close to getting the looks he gives you is his first cup of coffee in the morning.“ Steph giggled. "But he doesn’t have to say it for me to see how much he loves you, just like I can see how much you love him. No one would be stupid enough to convince Poison Ivy to kiss them if they weren’t in love.”

Rory listened to her friend, for once it was nice to have a girl her age to talk to. Both Kori and Helena were older than her by a few years and they all had different experiences, but with Stephanie, it was a little different. She has been in this life for almost as long as she had been and shared almost similar experiences. Rory trusted Stephanie with her life and would do anything for her as well.

“I do love Tim, I love him more than I have loved anything or anyone before but what if he finds out I’m not as good as he thinks I am?”

“Rory, no one here is perfect. Jason, he’s done a lot of things in the past. My father is a villain, Cass’s mother is Lady Shiva and let’s not forget that Damian is the grandson of Ra’s Al Ghul. We’ve all done some pretty shitty things, but Tim has never treated us differently for it. When the time comes and you tell him a few more bits and pieces, I know he will sit and listen.”

Rory jumped on her friend and hugged her tightly. Hearing it from Tim was one thing, but getting it from another outside source made her feel a little bit better. “Thanks, Steph, I really needed this.” she smiled.

Stephanie was about to open her mouth when Tim opened the door and walked in, with a mortified look on his face. Looks like Bruce’s talk finally ended.

“I’ll leave you two.” Stephanie got up and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Once she was gone, Tim climbed on the bed and pulled Rory into his lap and buried his face in her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her middle.

The two of them sat like that in comfortable silence while Rory watched more of her movie, and stroked one of Tim’s hands with her own as he rubbed circles into her side. Tim lifted his head after a while and watched the movie with her as she fed him some of the leftover cookies, eating some herself.

“So, how was the talk?” she giggled, turning her head to look at Tim who was watching the movie still. At her words, his face went pink again and his eyes shifted to hers.

“You don’t want to know, it was bad enough but with Dick, Jason and Damian all there too it was terrible. Damian of course didn’t care all that much since he’s never really been romantically involved with someone. It was Dick and Jason that made it the worst, every two seconds they had to input something.” he mumbled. “You would think they’re the ones the talk was meant for, not me.”

Rory laughed and ruffled his hair softly, “Well don’t worry. When Oliver and Dinah gave me the talk Roy was there and it was so embarrassing.” she leaned back against Tim’s chest and relaxed in his warmth. “Besides, if we ever get to that part in our relationship they would never know.”

Tim flushed darker, “Geez Rory, just exactly how much did you hide from Oliver?”

“You don’t want to know, let’s just say I got creative when the time came.” and with that, she went back to watching the movie curled into his chest. Once it was over she stretched out her arms and let out a small noise.

“We should probably join the others, Steph and Dick would never forgive us if we missed out on the Wayne Family traditions,” Tim said, lifting her off his lap. Rory smiled and stood up and slid on her slippers. Tim held out his hand to her, which she took with a smile and led her down to the kitchen where everyone was, probably waiting on them.

“So what are some of the Wayne Family traditions?” she asked, as they descended the stairs.

“Well, we decorate gingerbread houses, cookies, watch movies, and just enjoy our time as a family together. It’s one of the few times we all get along well,” he said and opened the kitchen door, where everyone was attempting to assemble and decorate a gingerbread house.

Rory giggled at the sight, Dick and Stephanie had their house up and were decorating it together, Cass and Babs had theirs already assembled and decorated so well, it looked like it came out of a Christmas card. Damian and Bruce seemed to be struggling the most, neither of them could even get their house to stand and it was entertaining seeing Bruce flustered over something so trivial. Jason was partnered with Alfred who watched as the latter was decorating the house as he ate the candies that were supposed to decorate it.

At the end of the table was a house for Tim and Rory to build, so they walked over and began to assemble it which took no time at all. About halfway through decorating it, Rory was starting to get bored. Both she and Tim had ideas on what to do, and Rory was waiting on Tim to finish with his idea when something popped into her head.

“Hey, dragon boy.”

Tim turned his head towards her, he never got the chance to speak before Rory wiped some of the icing used to glue the house together on his nose with a grin. He scrunched up his nose and raised a brow at her. “Really? Is this the game you want to start?”

“I don’t know Tim, you looked very serious over there.” she chuckled, popping a peppermint candy into her mouth.

“Apparently too serious for your liking.” he grinned and grabbed some of the red icing and smeared it on her face. Rory gasped in surprise and gave him a playful glare before she began to throw gumdrops at him two of them managing to stick to his nose.

“Ha! Take that Timothy!” she laughed and booped the gumdrop on his nose. Tim managed to grab a handful of sprinkles and blew them into her face, the sprinkles sticking her to hair and face.

With a fake frown on her face, Rory grabbed a handful of powdered sugar and blew it into his face turning Tim’s face and hair white with the sugar. “Now that’s just rude.” He grabbed her, holding Rory close to his chest, and found one of the icing bags, and held it above her face. “Say you’re sorry, Rory.”

The two of them were causing a scene, but no one minded that much. Dick had his phone out and was recording it while the others laughed at the two of them. Rory let out a squeal, trying to get out of Tim’s hold not wanting to get icing all over her face.

“You’ll never get me to apologize!” she cried, trying to pull away with a laugh.

“Then you leave me with no choice.” Tim laughed and began to squeeze the icing all over her face, making Rory laugh and try and bat his hands and the icing away only making it go everywhere else.

“Tim! Stop!” she laughed, both of them covered in icing now. Tim looked at her, 

“Are you sorry for the sugar?” he asked with a grin. Rory nodded her head. 

“I’m sorry, you just needed a little more sweetness in your life Timothy.” she laughed.

He rolled his eyes and let her go, Alfred was crossing his arms and looking at the two of them. After sending them off to go shower, everyone met back up in the screening room to watch Christmas movies.

They somehow managed to get through one of everyone’s choosing. Dick chose Home Alone, Jason of course chose Die Hard, Tim chose Elf, Steph chose The Santa Clause and by default, both Cass and Babs chose the second and third one. Damian had decided on the classic Rudolph, Frosty, and Santa Claus stop motion animation shorts. Bruce had chosen White Christmas and Rory was faithful to her robe and chose How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

The rest of the day was spent with them all laughing and enjoying each other’s company until Stephanie, Cass, and Barbara kidnapped Rory and drug her up to her room to get her ready for the ballet she was attending later that night.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Rory was sat in a chair in the middle of her bathroom while the three girls looked at her, then the dress, and then back at Rory once more. They were contemplating on what to do to her, white was a very simple color but hard to work with at times.

“I say we keep it natural, that way it won’t clash too much with her dress. Since her hair is so dark, it contrasts it quite a bit.” Cass said.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Steph said and turned Rory around so she was facing the mirror. “Now, what to do with the hair. You got that gorgeous necklace set with the earrings, so I say put your hair up for the evening and let those babies be shown to the world.”

“You guys know that I have nothing in particular I want, just make me look decent,” Rory stated. She was never really one to wear makeup and do her hair all fancy, but the girls were excited and she was going to a formal event so might as well let them have their fun.

Rory watched as Stephanie did her hair, it took a while, but all of Rory’s hair was up in the bun. Stephanie started to put bobby pins into her hair and small jewels that matched her outfit. With the way it looked, Rory’s hair almost shone in the bathroom lights.

Now that she was done, it was time for Rory’s least favorite part, the makeup. Turning her back to look at them, Rory closed her eyes and felt Babs place a light layer of foundation on her face followed by concealer. While Cassandra worked on her eyes, Babs did her cheeks and lips. The atmosphere was quiet but tense, the two of them worried that they would make a mistake.

During this, both Dick and Jason tried to peek in to see what they were doing to Rory, only for Stephanie to grab one of her hidden arrows and throw it at their heads, yelling at them to get out and they would see when Tim got to see.

Speaking of Tim, he was a nervous wreck. He and Rory had only been ‘officially’ dating by Dick and Jason’s standards for 12 hours now and he was worried that he was going to mess it up. Neither of his brothers were helping his nerves, nor helping him get ready. It took Alfred shooing them out and began to help him, with some thoughtful input from Bruce.

Back in Rory’s room, the girls were going at it again. Only this time, it was about what Rory would wear under her dress. Initially, Rory wanted to wear some leggings under her dress so she wouldn’t freeze in the cold winter air, but the second she said that Stephanie and Barbara went ballistic. 

“You don’t wear leggings under a dress this fancy Rory!”

“No one has stopped me before Steph!”

“Dinah is no longer allowed to dress you for events, for every single one you are going to come straight to me and I will make you look like a bombshell,” she said with her hands on her hips. “You are not wearing leggings, pantyhose I will allow because those are a neutral color and hard to see and the skirt of the dress is really long.”

Rory let out a huff and took the undergarments she was being forced to wear and changed in the bathroom, Steph following her with the dress. It took a minute, but once the dress was on Rory securely they exited the bathroom. When the other two saw her, their jaws dropped.

“If you weren’t dating Tim, I would totally try to date you.” Cass chuckled looking her friend over, making Rory blush at her comment.

“Stop it, Cass, you’re embarrassing her.” Barbara chuckled.

“But am I wrong? She looks hot.” the four of them laughed and helped Rory get her necklace and earrings in before sitting her down and putting the shoes on her. Once they finished, they helped Rory stand straight and made her twirl.

Rory looked like a dream, standing in the mirror she watched as the dress she chose swayed ever so slightly and her leg as slightly visible in the slit. Touching the bracelet on her wrist, she smiled softly knowing that her parents would be proud of her.

“You, my dear, are ready to go. Let me take a picture though, none of us know what condition you are going to come back in especially once Tim sees you in that dress.” Steph winked and took a picture of Rory who was flipping her off with a small smile on her face.

“Cass, can you go see if Tim is ready to go?” Barbara asked, she nodded and slid out of the room and knocked on Tim’s door only to be met with Alfred.

“Yes, Miss Cassandra?”

“I was sent to see if Tim was ready,” she said as Tim exited the room from behind Alfred. He was in a nice suit, with white accents to match Rory perfectly.

“I’m ready, what do you think Cass?” he asked and held his arms out. Giving a hum of approval, she nodded with a laugh. “Rory will meet you downstairs,” she said and disappeared back into Rory’s room.

The three girls looked at Cass as she returned. “He is going to meet you downstairs, you ready to go?”

Rory grabbed her clutch and nodded before walking out of the room behind the three of them. They all walked down the hall, Rory slightly taller than them now because of her shoes. They stopped her before the stairs and peeked around the corner and saw that the boys were in fact waiting at the bottom for them.

Damian was next to Dick talking to Jason and Tim who’s backs were to them. Bruce was with Alfred, watching them silently as they waited. Steph cleared her throat and sent Rory down the stairs.

Dick and Damian were the first to see her and their eyes went wide, making Jason and Tim turn to see what they were looking at. Tim’s jaw dropped, walking down the stairs was Rory in a beautiful white dress. She looked like an angel to him, a beautiful, heavenly angel. His eyes took in every inch of her, from the style of her hair to the slit in her dress down to her feet that were in heels. He met her at the bottom of the stairs and took her hand.

“You look amazing.” he smiled. Rory blushed at his words. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Tim.”

Tim smiled and kissed her cheek, making Rory scratch the back of her neck in shyness.

“Hey! Don’t you dare touch your hair Rory or so help me I will follow you and cut it all off!” Stephanie threatened from the top of the stairs. Rory’s hand instantly left her neck.

“Sorry Steph!” she called. Turning around she saw Jason leaning against the stairwell.

“You clean up well, princess.” he chuckled and looked between the two of them. They really did look great together.

Rory rolled her eyes. “I could still kick your ass in this dress you know, and I’ve heard heels hurt like a bitch too.”

“Behave the two of you,” Bruce said and stepped towards Tim and Rory with a smile on his face. “Remember, keep your phones on you. If anything happens, let us know and we will be there as soon as we can.”

Tim gave his adoptive father a nod with a smile and kept Rory close. He helped her put on her coat and led her out to the limo waiting for them. He helped her in before climbing in himself and looked at her in adoration.

With his family not there, he felt a little more comfortable and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling Rory close to him and kissed her cheek. “You really do look amazing,” he said softly.

Rory leaned into him and smiled. “I can’t take all the credit, it goes to Steph, Cass, and Babs. They made the magic happen, I’m just the fleshy thing wearing it all.” she chuckled.

Tim rolled his eyes. “They can’t make you beautiful Rory, they can only accent the beauty that’s there. You deserve all the credit, I think you’re beautiful no matter what you wear.”

Rory blushed at his words and looked at him with a smile. “You’re such a sap”

“I know, but you like it.” he leaned in and kissed her softly, cupping her cheek in his hand. Rory leaned into his touch and smiled against his lips, she hadn’t been this happy in a long time and she was enjoying it.

It didn’t take them long to get to the theater, and like they expected people were trying to get photos of them wanting to know who this girl was with one of the Wayne heirs. A few people recognized her as Oliver’s daughter and tried to talk to her, but Rory and Tim simply ignored them all and went inside.

It didn’t take them long to find their seats, Tim managed to get them a box seat just for the two of them. He led her up the stairs, not daring to let go of her hand and once there was nobody around Tim pulled her close by the waist and kissed her once more.

Rory giggled softly and pulled away, “What was that for?” she asked.

“I’m enjoying the night and not many people can afford to get box seats so I’m taking advantage of it.” he grinned softly and led her into their box and sat down with her. Rory looked around at the theater and smiled, the décor was beautiful with all the gold accents and red curtains. It reminded her of her first performance, it was in Star City and the theater looked similar to this one in Gotham.

Tim refused to let go of Rory’s hand, he was still scared that this was all a dream and he would wake up if he were to let her go. He knew it sounded stupid, but he couldn’t help himself from thinking it. With a smile on his face, he watched as Rory looked around with her eyes wide with wonder. He really would have to thank Jason for the idea.

Squeezing her hand, Rory turned to look at him. “You alright dragon boy?” she asked softly.

Tim nodded, not taking his eyes off her. “I’m just wanting to enjoy this moment with you.” he kissed her cheek again. “I also love the white, you should wear it more often.”

Rory gave him a look, picking up exactly what he was putting down. Tim was the only one in Wayne Manor other than Bruce that knew of her White Arrow status, she kept it to herself because Rory didn’t want to ruin their thoughts and ideas of who the White Arrow was.

The whole Justice League loved her and had even considered letting her join as an official member but when you put that kind of pressure on an 18-year-old, things might not go well. Now the only members that knew of her status as Grey Arrow were Bruce, Oliver, Dinah, Clark, and Diana but none of their proteges knew.

To the rest of the world, the White Arrow died in a battle against Deathstroke a year and a half ago.

“Tim, you know I can’t do that,” she whispered, looking around to make sure no one else was trying to listen to them. He was about to respond when the lights dimmed and the music began to play. Rory turned to look at the stage, the excitement bubbling within her.

Tim kept a tight grip on her hand as they watched the opening scene, Rory almost ready to jump out of her seat from excitement. She watched in awe as the dancers moved across the stage gracefully, it only made her miss performing more.

Maybe after all this, she should go find a program in Star City or even possibly stay in Gotham and audition. To Rory, nothing in the world could beat the thrill of dancing her heart out on a stage.

They watched the party scene unfold, and Clara getting shrunk before having to face off with the Mouse King. Rory could tell that Tim was enjoying it, he hadn’t said a word the entire time. As he watched, he could see the resemblance it held to when he saw Rory dance a while back. She looked just as graceful as they did, he only wished that he had gotten to see her perform.

Intermission came and the two of them got up to stretch their legs. With a smile, Rory took Tim’s hand and they walked down to take a look at the concessions. They obviously got looks from multiple people, it was Tim Drake-Wayne one of the most sought-after guys in Gotham.

Oliver may not have held the same type of popularity as Bruce, but the more people looked the more they recognized Rory and who she was. Soon whispers began to follow them asking why a Queen was in Gotham with a Wayne, were they dating, were they, friends?

But none of this seemed to bother Tim or Rory, they got themselves a bag of popcorn each and walked back up to their seats away from prying eyes. Once they sat down again, Rory munched on her popcorn.

“This is probably the best date I have ever been on,” she said, making Tim turn and look at her.

“I have to tell you songbird, this was actually Jason’s idea. I just decided to do it.” he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, missing the comment about it being a date until he registered it and looked back at her again. “Wait, you think of this as a date?”

“Well, you are my boyfriend are you not?” she asked with a giggle.

Tim smiled so wide he would have exploded, he leaned over and kissed her softly. “One hell of a first date huh?” he asked with a grin as he pulled away from the kiss. Rory gave him a nod, watching him with a smile.

Before long, intermission was over and the ballet resumed and the dancers took the stage. Rory leaned into Tim as they watched the show, enjoying her time with him. Having been in the Nutcracker multiple times in her life, she knew the dances by heart. Her favorite to watch and perform was the Arabian dance. The song was so smooth and mystical sounding, it always lulled her to sleep. Not to mention for the dance they needed very flexible people to perform it, and she was one of the few who could.

There was a flicker of the lights and Rory looked around, normally that didn’t happen. Something felt wrong. She felt Tim grip her hand tighter, he must have felt the same thing. At big productions like this, lights don’t just flicker.

Then all the lights shut off, leaving the entire theater in darkness. There was a murmur around the theater, the music had stopped and everything was dead silent. “Tim, something’s not right,” she muttered quietly.

Before Tim could even answer, a spotlight turned itself back on and shone on a lone figure descending onto the stage on one of the props. Rory and Tim recognized that mess of blonde hair anywhere, somehow Harley Quin had gotten out of Arkham and none of them knew.

“Alright ya fancy-ass rich people, listen up!” she yelled, Rory and Tim not letting their eyes leave Harley. “I’m lookin’ for someone! She’s new in town and I owe her somethin’ good.”

“You need to call Bruce, this could get worse.” She muttered quietly and watched as Tim carefully pulled out his phone to send Bruce an SOS. Looking at the clown princess, Rory noticed the knee she took a bat to was in a brace. There was no way Harley was forgiving her for that any time soon.

“She’s a new bat, and she’s responsible for fuckin’ up my knee! So until she gets here, I’m holdin’ all of ya hostage.” Harley grinned and pulled out a large gun and held it out towards the audience.

Rory’s body went stiff, Harley was going to shoot an entire theater full of people if she didn’t show up as Grey Arrow. Quietly, the two of them got up to try and find a way out. Slowly, Rory backed out of the box but was met with a gun to the back of her head.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tim turned and went pale at the sight in front of him. One of Harley’s thugs had a gun to the back of Rory’s head, and neither of them could risk exposing their identities by fighting back.

Rory stood still, refusing to move and her eyes not leaving Tim. The thug who held the gun to the back of her head recognized Tim and saw this as an opportunity. “You’re one of the Wayne boys, how about this. You give me what I want, and I let the girl go free?”

Rory shook her head. “Don’t do it, I’ll be okay. Trust me,” she said softly. Tim knew that if it came down to it, Rory could get herself out of the situation. But that could cause a whole new mess of problems, so he had no idea what the better option was.

“How about we give him some time to think sweetheart, I’m sure Harley would love some company.” The thug grinned and dragged Rory away from Tim, who was being held back by three other thugs as explosions and gunshots began to ring around the theater.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Rory flinched away from the explosions as she was dragged down through the theater, towards the stage where Harley was swinging her bat around, a limp in her step from the knee Rory messed up. People were screaming, and she could do nothing to help but hope that Tim’s message to Bruce went through.

“Hey, boss! I got something for you!” the thug yelled and pushed Rory towards the villain. Harley looked over and saw Rory stumble towards her, and swung her bat onto her shoulder.

“Why the hell did ya bring me her? I want the Arrow-Bat, not some hoity-toity socialite.” she snapped, the thug grabbing Rory by the arm.

“She was with one of those Wayne boys, I figured we could get some good shit if we used her to our advantage.” Harley walked towards them and circled Rory as if trying to figure out who she was. Stopping in front of her, Harley used the bat to tilt Rory’s head upwards to get a better look at the necklace.

“Well, she does have some very fine bling. Ya must have some good amount of money unless you’re that boy's sugar baby.” she grinned. “Take the necklace and earrings, then get rid of her. ” Harley ordered and walked off humming a tune as she swung the bat.

With a jerk, Rory was drug off backstage and thrown into a wall. Looking up at her captor, she saw an unsavory look in his eyes and that was never good. Before he could even lay a hand on her, Rory kicked him in the groin as hard as she could and went to make a break for it.

She didn’t get very far before two more showed up and threw her back into the wall, hitting it with a whimper. There was no way she was getting out of this unless she was willing to take the risk. The thug she kicked grabbed her by the throat and held her up against the wall cutting off her airflow.

Her hand flew up to try and pry his off of her, but his grip was stronger and she was getting weaker. Rory’s legs thrashed about trying to kick something as dark spots clouded her vision and she could feel herself fading.

Before her vision blacked out, Rory saw two canisters drop from above and began to fill the area with smoke. The next thing she knew, she was dropped to the floor as there were a series of grunts and cries of pain coming from the smoke. Feeling an arm wrap around her, she was lifted into the air and set on the metal walkways above the theater.

Rory started coughing to try and catch her breath, her hand on her chest. There was a pat on her back and she turned to see Robin sitting there, his eyes hidden behind the whites of his mask.

“You alright Sonnet?”

Rory gave him a nod and sat on her knees, taking deep breaths to refill her lungs with oxygen again. “Thanks, Rob.” she rasped.

Robin pulled something out of a pocket and gave it to her. “Batman said to give you this, keep it in and stay out of sight,” he said and took off down the metal path. Rory looked at the item in her hand and saw that it was a commlink.

Putting it in her ear, she pressed the button. “About time guys,” she said softly, her throat hoarse.

 _“Save the chatter for later, where was the last place you saw Tim?”_ Batman asked.

“Top box, left side of the theater. There were three thugs there still when I was dragged off. Make sure he’s okay Bats.” she forced out, coughing once she finished talking.

Looking below, she saw Harley looked irritated. “Come on B-Man! Where’s the girl? I have a few things to say to her, and Mistah J wants to greet her personally.” she called. “He promises he will be nicer to her than he was the last one! Honest!”

What the hell was going on? Why did the Joker want to meet Grey Arrow? She had only been in town for a month and a half and she already made enemies. There was a loud explosion on Rory’s right and she turned to see that the metal walkway was rigged with explosives. Quickly she got up, trying not to fall off from the path shaking violently.

Rory took off down the path hoping to beat the bombs, not wanting to fall to her death. She pressed the com again. “Uh guys, I’m going to need a little help.”

 _“Seriously Sonnet? Not even 10 minutes and you’re in trouble again?”_ Robin’s voice sounded.

“The walkway is getting blown up and I am running on a grate in heels. Unless you want one of them shoved up your ass, come get me!” her voice came out even worse than before, with Rory trying to raise her voice to yell at them.

She kept running, trying not to get knocked off but the bombs were getting closer and closer to her. Turning the corner, she saw the ladder that led to the ground floor and urged her legs to move faster, but not fast enough.

“Guys seriously! I am running out of path!” she cried, coughing at the end of her sentence.

Right as her foot left the previous grate, it blew and fell to the floor. Rory knew she wouldn’t get off the next one before it too blew up so she made the only choice she could. 

“One of you better fucking catch me!” she said and jumped off the grate.

Rory was only airborne for a few moments as the rest of the walkway blew up before she was caught. She caught a glimpse of red and knew who had caught her. “Thanks for the lift Hood,” she muttered, holding on tight to him with her dress swaying behind her.

She felt him chuckle as he dropped her on a more sturdy platform. “Just saving the princess from a fiery death is all.” Rory punched him on the arm.

“Be happy I don’t push you into the fire.” she croaked, her voice barely audible now.

“You should really stop talking you know, it will only make your voice worse.” Red Hood kicked a window open and led her out of it onto the rooftop of the theater.

“Well, you guys should stop leaving me in places that I can get blown up,” she muttered. Red Hood heard her and laughed.

“Alright princess, hang on.” he pulled her close and grappled to a nearby building. “Go inside and stay there. I’ll be back to pick you up in a few.” and he took off to go back into the theater.

Looking around, Rory saw a roof exit and went through the door and down the stairs. Where was she? Once she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw what seemed to be a warehouse turned into a living complex? Was this one of the safe houses, if so who’s was it? She saw that the place was very neat and tidy and Rory knew that neither Dick nor Tim were all that tidy, especially Dick. That guy was a slob, Tim just left clothes everywhere.

Damian wasn’t to the point he needed a safe house, and she knew this was not one of Oliver’s or anyone from Team Arrow, so it must be Jason’s. Rory took off her shoes, and slowly she limped to the bathroom, her feet in immense pain from running in heels. She looked at herself in the mirror and cursed to herself.

“Steph is going to kill me.”

Her hair was a mess, and her skin covered ins ash and smoke effectively ruining the dress. Well, it was good while it lasted. Grabbing a washcloth, Rory started to rub at her arms trying to get it off without hopping into a shower. Yeah, it was Jason’s place, but she felt like she was already overstepping.

Jason walked in about forty-five minutes later, the attack on the theater was over. Tim was already back at the cave and made Jason go back and get Rory. Hearing the water run, he walked to the bathroom and saw Rory leaning against the sink as she rubbed the black off her arms.

“You might as well take a shower, princess,” he said crossing his arms.

Rory looked up, she was about to speak but the words were caught in her throat. The pain she felt trying to talk hurt more than she could say, but Jason could tell what she was trying to say.

“Tim is fine, I’ll give you some clothes and you will shower and get clean. The boy would probably have a heart attack if I brought you back looking like this.”

Rory glared at him, only making him laugh. “I’ll be back.” and he walked out.

Rory turned to look at herself in the mirror again and took out the earrings and removed the necklace. She could see yellow prints beginning to form on her throat from the guy’s hand, it was going to leave bruises for a while at least.

It didn’t take long to wipe the makeup off, but the thing Rory was dreading the most was taking her hair down. Luckily, Jason decided to show his face again with a towel and clothes. Noticing the look of dread, he walked over and stood behind her.

“What’s the problem?”

Rory huffed and pointed at her hair with an irritated look. Jason laughed understanding her problem. “Alright don’t move. I can’t tell you how many times I had to help Steph and Babs with their hair after galas and events have gone wrong.” he began to pull the pins out of her hair, the strands falling in her face. “I can’t tell you how often that tends to happen either.”

Rory stood there quietly listening as Jason talked to fill the silence and pulled the pins out of her hair. Soon it was all taken down and less of a mess than before. 

“Alright, I’ll be on the couch. Take a shower and change but don’t take forever. Tim said I have half an hour to get you back before he comes looking for you instead.” he chuckled and walked out the bathroom shutting the door.

Rory locked it behind him and started the shower, letting it warm up before getting in. The water was soothing on her skin, relaxing the tense muscles in her body and making the pain in her throat subside a little.

Turning off the water, she stepped out and wrapped herself in the fluffy towels. Her thoughts wandered to the night’s events as she dried herself off and began to pull the clothes Jason gave her. Harley blew up the theater because she wanted to draw out the Grey Arrow, not just because she wanted revenge but because the Joker wanted to meet her.

Rory knew Jason’s past with the Joker, Stephanie had told her on one of their previous girls' nights and what he did to him was awful. It was no wonder why Jason was the way he was, but she understood it. Going through something like that, it changed you.

Once she was dressed, Rory noticed that the clothes she was wearing were women’s clothes. Why the hell did Jason have a stash of women’s clothes at his safe house? Exiting the bathroom, she saw him sitting on the couch like he said he would be and walked up, tapping him on the shoulder.

She must have taken Jason by surprise because he immediately swung his arm to hit whoever was behind him. Luckily for Rory, she had quick reflexes and ducked before he could hit her. Looking over he saw her poke her head out from behind the couch. “Oh, it’s just you. Sorry.”

“Whose clothes are these?” she whispered, the strain on her throat easing some from the shower she had taken. Jason blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck.

“They might be Kori’s.”

Rory looked at him in confusion, why would Jason have some of Kori’s clothes stashed- oh. Her eyes went wide and she looked at him, the look on both of their faces showed that neither of them wanted to talk about the fact that they both had slept with Kori in the past.

“You should probably take me back.” Rory forced her voice to come out louder, but all it did was squeak making her only more irritated.

Hearing her squeak made Jason laugh, the tense air was gone immediately. “Come on princess, if we take any longer Tim will hunt me down.” He led her out to his garage and climbed into a red, very expensive looking car. Of course, he owned a red car, this was Jason after all.

Climbing in, Rory threw the bag that had her dress and such in it in the back seat before buckling up. The drive to the manor was quiet, mainly because of the fact that Rory still couldn’t talk without straining her voice. But of course, Jason cracked a few jokes here and there, making her giggle.

Once they got to the manor, Rory grabbed her bag and hopped out of the car. Her ankles were still in pain from sprinting in those heels, so every step was painful and she was still limping. Jason had tried to carry her, but she refused and threatened to kick his ass with some very vulgar hand motions.

Alfred was the one to meet them at the door, instantly pulling Rory into a hug with a sigh of relief. Rory hugged him back with a smile on her face. “I’m okay.” she croaked. He let her go and tilted her head up to examine her neck.

“I’ll make you some tea Miss Aurora, you’ve bound to have a nasty sore throat,” he said. “Master Tim is in the cave with the others, I’ll bring it to you down there.” then he walked off towards the kitchen to make Rory some tea.

Rory and Jason walked down to the cave, she finally let him carry her once they got to the metal stairs because every step she was hissing in pain. Once they got down there, he set her down and they entered the cave.

Everyone was huddled around the bat computer talking about the attack amongst other things when Cassandra looked up and saw her. “Rory!”

Everyone turned to look and saw Rory and Jason standing there. The first to get to her was Stephanie, she literally pushed everyone to the side so she could hug her first. Rory let out a laugh and hugged her friend back. “Sorry about the dress, Steph. It’s no longer white, to say the least.” she rasped.

She shook her head, “To hell with the dress, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“What’s with the limp?” Dick asked.

Rory reached into the bag and pulled out the mangled pair of heels. “You try running for your life in these, on a metal grate no less.”

“Why were you running?” Cass asked, standing next to Barbara. Rory’s gaze pointed at Damian who was standing there with his arms crossed. “Someone put me on a metal walkway rigged with explosives.”

“Would you rather I let you get strangled?”

“You’re right, thanks for saving me only to put me in another position that I needed more saving,” she said, Rory’s voice faltering at the end. She really needed to stop talking.

“Alright, no more questions.” Jason pried Steph off of Rory and handed her a whiteboard and marker. “Here, now will you stop talking?”

Rory took the whiteboard with a frown on her face and hit him on the head with it. Then wrote the word ‘Asshole’ on it.

Jason laughed and nodded to his left. Rory looked and saw Tim there, he was in a different outfit but his hair was a mess, and his blue eyes looking exhausted. He walked over and grabbed her face, kissing her deeply.

Rory knew Tim wasn’t one for PDA, but this showed just how worried he was about her. Smiling against his lips, she pulled away from the kiss and wrote the words 'I’m okay.’ on the whiteboard.

Tim read them with a chuckle and pulled her to him as he wrapped his arms around her. Rory buried her face in his chest and gripped the back of his shirt, not wanting to let go. “I was worried, when they got to me Damian said that he had gotten you out.”

Rory nodded and Tim pressed a kiss to the top of her head and held her tightly. Bruce cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. “I’m glad the both of you are okay, but there are things we need to discuss.”

Barbara pulled up surveillance footage of the attack and zoomed in on Harley. Hitting play, they watched as Harley called out for Batman to bring out Grey Arrow, and that the Joker wanted to meet her.

“Joker wants Rory, and none of us know why. Until he is stopped, she is not to go out alone on patrol or even casually. Someone will be with her at all times, and she is not to go anywhere near the Rogues Gallery at all. We don’t know who else is trying to get her to him, so we aren’t going to take the risk.” Bruce explained.

“Now if any of you even want a Christmas, then get to bed or no Santa Claus.” Everyone rolled their eyes at Bruce, no one in the manor believed in Santa Claus anymore, but the sentiment was there so they gave a smile and a good night and went up to their rooms.

Tim walked Rory to her room, his touch not leaving her whether it was holding her hand or putting his arm around her. She must have worried him a lot, Rory could see it in the way he moved. She squeezed his hand back and smiled at her.

She opened her door and grabbed Tim by the collar, pulling him in as he gave her a confused look. The door wasn’t even shut yet before she planted her lips on his, Tim kicking the door shut behind him. His hands went to her waist and pulled her against him, kissing her deeper.

Rory couldn’t use words to tell Tim how she felt, her throat was hurting again and the whiteboard was stupid. With a hold on his collar still, Rory pushed him onto the bed and climbed onto his lap kissing him deeper. Tim’s hands ran up her back, pulling her impossibly closer to him.

There was a knock at the door, making the two of them pull apart. Slowly, she got up and opened the door and saw Alfred there with two cups of tea on a tray for her and Tim. “I figured Master Tim would be with you, so I brought him a cup as well.”

Rory gave Alfred a thankful smile and took the cups, bringing one to Tim as Alfred shut the door behind him. Tim took the cup as she sat next to him and sipped it slowly, letting the warm liquid coat her sore throat. Once the cups were finished, they set them on the nightstand. Rory climbed into the bed and looked at Tim.

“Stay?” was all she could get out, but it didn’t hurt. Tim gave her a lopsided smiled and climbed into bed with her, pulling the covers over them both. Glancing at the clock, they both saw that it was officially past midnight.

“Merry Christmas Briar Rose,” he said softly and kissed her nose.

“Merry Christmas Dragon Boy,” she whispered and pecked his lips softly before closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Rory woke the next morning with a weight on her chest. Looking down she saw that Tim was laid on top of her fast asleep with his head on her chest, his arms wrapped around her waist. Rory let out a slight giggle and brushed the hair out of his eyes softly. It was very rare that she saw him sleep, this boy could pull all-nighters for days on end before someone was sent to make him go to sleep.

Even when he was asleep, there seemed to be a permanent smile on his lips that were slightly puckered. His black hair was matted all over the place, as he buried his face into her chest. Not wanting to ruin the moment, Rory decided to stay in bed. Looking out the window, Christmas morning was here and it was snowing outside. Seeing that made Rory smile, she loved the snow.

Rory watched it fall as she ran her fingers through Tim’s hair, humming a Christmas tune softly. Her throat still hurt, but not as bad as it did the night before and she was able to talk for the most part. Christmas was her favorite time of year, it was the only time her family was able to be together, the Sonnets and the Queens. Clara and Michael were busy with ballet and his job, and Oliver and Dinah were always busy with vigilante stuff.

Tim woke to the feeling of Rory’s fingers in his hair, and he loved it. There was nothing more he loved than the feeling of his hair being played with. It was the reason that he kept it long, ever since he felt her fingers in his hair the first time. Slowly, he leaned into her touch and nuzzled deeper into her chest.

Rory looked down and saw Tim’s smile was bigger. “Good morning Timmy,” she said softly, her fingers still brushing his hair. Tim let out a chuckle and opened his eyes and looked up at her, Rory’s eyes still full of sleep. Slowly he leaned up and gave her a soft kiss.

“Good morning to you too Songbird.” he smiled, looking down at the beautiful girl under him.

Rory let out a small giggle and pulled him into another kiss, cupping his cheek. She rested a hand on his hip, gripping the bottom of his shirt. The way he made Rory feel, she couldn’t describe it. His lips were like a drug and she was addicted to it, all she wanted to do was kiss him endlessly. Tim’s hands rested on her sides, as he slid them up and down only to feel Rory wiggle from underneath him.

“Rory? You alright?”

Heat rose to her cheeks as she nodded. “Just tickles is all.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, Aurora Sonnet-Queen the most kick-ass person he knew, was ticklish?

Once those words left her mouth, Rory’s eyes widened. The next thing she knew, Rory was being held down by Tim’s body and he was tickling her sides with a huge grin on her face as she shrieked with laughter yelling for him to stop.

Rory tried pushing him off, but couldn’t because she was laughing so hard. “Tim stop!”

“Not until you say the magic word.” he grinned and kept tickling her. Rory couldn’t get any more words out, her voice cut off by her laughter. She tried kicking him off, only for him to hold her legs down with his own.

She was laughing so hard that neither of them noticed the door being pushed open with Jason and Dick standing there and watching Tim tickle Rory. Dick smiled watching the two of them, it always made him happy to see his brothers so happy. It was one of his favorite things about being the oldest, he got to watch them grow and have fun through life.

Jason crossed his arms, he too had a smile on his face. He may not know much about Rory’s past but he could see that it was not an easy one and she kept herself guarded because of it. Seeing her so happy with Tim put a smile on his face.

“Do we want to know what is going on here?” Dick asked, interrupting Tim and Rory.

Tim stopped tickling her, and looked over at his brothers, and blushed. He was under the blanket and straddling Rory, making it look like something else. “This is not what it looks like, I swear.”

Rory grinned and pushed Tim off the bed, watching him fall off with a thud and a small cry of pain. “Hey! What the hell was that for?”

“I told you to stop tickling me.” she giggled.

Tim’s eyes narrowed at her with a playful grin on his face. “So you push me off the bed?”

Sensing the slight hostility in his voice, Rory quickly got up and hid behind Jason making him laugh. “If you think I’m going to hide you, you picked the wrong brother princess.”

“I’m your favorite, besides you’d do it just so you can pick at Tim,” she answered, looking around Jason to watch Tim get up and begin to walk over to them.

Jason let out another laugh. “How do you know me so well?”

“We have the same best friend, and the same taste in women apparently. By this point, we might as well be a different version of the other.” Rory chuckled, Jason just rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair, Rory swatting his hand away.

Dick and Tim’s eyes widened. “You guys dated the same person?” Dick asked.

“Not at the same time obviously, but we both dated Kori at one point,” she explained, hoping to ease the look on their face, but Dick only looked more distressed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Dick has dated Kori as well.”

Rory’s jaw dropped. What the hell? The look on her face made Tim laugh, he was also the only one in the house that knew she dated Kori and he kept the information to himself about it. Turning to look at him, she glared.

“Tim, you knew the three of us dated Kori in the past and didn’t say something?”

He just shrugged, “I thought it would be funny once you all figured it out.” The three of them were now glaring at Tim. They gave each other a look before Rory quickly shut the door and locked it with the key from the outside.

They heard Tim banging on the door. “Guys! Come on, let me out! I expected this of them, but you too Rory?”

“You should have said something, now you will sit here and suffer while we eat all the cookies,” she said and started off down the hall with Dick and Jason laughing behind her. The three of them walked down to the kitchen where the others were waiting.

“Where’s Tim?” Babs asked, noticing that he was the only one not with them.

“Tim is indisposed for the time being, he thought it would be funny to keep something from us,” Dick said simply and sat down on one of the chairs, Jason and Rory sitting with him. They all quietly sipped their morning coffee, when there was a loud thud from the upstairs.

“Was that Tim?” Cass asked.

“Was what Tim?”

There was another loud thud again, making everyone look up to the floor above them. “That, what did you three do to Tim?” Steph asked, looking confused about how casual the three of them were looking.

“We have no idea what you are talking about,” Jason said as he sipped his coffee.

The thuds continued for a few minutes before they finally stopped, Dick, Rory, and Jason all looked at each other. What was he doing, and wasn’t Rory’s room above the kitchen? There was a thud from the window. They all looked over and in came Tim, glaring at the three people who seemed a little surprised to see him crawling in a window.

“Well, I think it’s time we all head to the living room to unwrap gifts right?” Dick said and quickly got up, with Rory and Jason right behind him.

“What are you talking about Dick, you haven’t eaten anything yet,” Bruce said, sensing that they did something to Tim.

“Oh no matter, we should probably leave,” Rory said and took off out of the kitchen with Dick and Jason right behind her, all running from a cold and disheveled looking Tim.

The three of them ran up the stairs, Tim right behind them. Rory was slower than the other two because she was shorter and her ankles were still in pain. He managed to catch her, and throw her over his shoulder.

“You’ll never take me alive!” she cried, trying to wiggle out of his hold.

“I think I just did.”

Tim carried her back to the kitchen and sat her down on a chair. “Don’t you dare move, or I will drag you back and restart this process.” he then left to get them both a plate of food and himself a cup of coffee. Rory crossed her arms with a pout, ignoring the girls as they tried to hide their giggles.

Tim came back with two plates and his mug and sat next to Rory, giving her a plate that she ate making sure to stab every item on her plate while watching Tim.

“Are you two having a fight?” Damian asked, looking at them.

“No Dami, Tim is just trying to suck up for something he didn’t think to tell me. I don’t think it’s working though.” Rory took a bite of her food, not taking her gaze off of Tim.

“What did he not tell you?”

Tim was about to answer, but Rory cut him off. “You answer that I will lock you outside the manor in the snow.” she threatened. Tim glanced to the side to look at her, even when she was scary he still thought she was gorgeous.

The conversation quieted down after a while and Jason and Dick thought it was safe to return to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Christmas morning was a beautiful time in the Wayne household, normally Bruce’s kids would behave for the most part but he had a feeling that that would not be the case for this year.

Breakfast was eaten and everyone helped Alfred clean up, even though he tried to object. This just ended with Bruce putting a hand on his shoulder saying “It’s Christmas, let us help.” and after that, Alfred had the biggest smile on his face.

Once the kitchen was clean, everyone went to the living room to open presents. Dick grabbed a radio and turned on a Christmas station, letting the carols fill the air as the fire roared beside them. Dick was the most eager and quickly passed out his presents to the others, giving Jason a new leather jacket because the one he always wore was getting worn out, Tim a new mug that had the Red Robin symbol on it because Tim loved getting mugs and he was starting to grow a collection and he found it one day in a store. Damian had gotten a cool souvenir that Dick had found when he was on a mission two months ago and thought he would enjoy it. When it came to the girls, it was a little harder.

He had gotten Barbara a new necklace, it was gold and had her initials on it. Steph had gotten multiple t-shirts with various sayings that made Dick think of her. Cass got a large box of chocolate truffles. Rory was the last of the girls to open hers and when she saw what Dick had gotten her, her jaw dropped. In the box were three pairs of pointe shoes in pink, white and black. Dick had noticed that hers were really worn out and would be needing some soon.

She hugged him and thanked him with a large smile. When it got to Bruce, he had found a mug with the superman symbol on it and laughed when he saw the look on Bruce’s face who asked if Clark had put him up to this. Alfred’s gift was bags of loose-leaf tea that Dick had picked out for him.

Bruce and Alfred went next, their gifts the same to everyone. From Bruce, they all got little slips of paper saying ‘Get out of patrol free card. Valid for one patrol.’ and from Alfred they each got hefty-sized goodie bags that were filled with cookies, brownies, and other treats galore. Rory wanted to go next so she passed out her gifts to everyone.

Alfred went first, Rory watched as he carefully opened his gift to see that it was a Christmas themed tea set complete with a pot, cups, saucers, spoons, and a milk and sugar jar. “Maybe we can have our next afternoon tea with this set.” she smiled. Alfred gave her a thankful smile and set it to the side.

Next was Bruce, who laughed once he saw what she had gotten him seeing the batman wearing a Santa hat. “Thanks, Rory, this is definitely something unique.” he chuckled and hung it on the tree.

Dick was next and he unwrapped his gift, seeing that it was a snow globe that had a circus tent on the inside with animals and clown and various performers. She saw the tears form in his eyes and scooted closer and hugged him tightly. Rory knew that Dick grew up in the circus and still had fond memories of it, she wanted to give him a little taste of home.

Jason’s gift was funny, Rory had gotten him an original copy of the book _A Little Princess_ from 1905. He let out a laugh and ruffled her hair, a habit he was picking up from Roy. “Thanks, princess.” he chuckled.

Next came Damian, and this one was a little hard to find but once she saw it, she knew it was the gift for him. Rory watched as Damian unwrapped an amulet with a robin on it, and twirled it in his hand to look at it better. “This is really thoughtful Rory, thank you.” Rory beamed, it wasn’t every day that Damian called you by your first name.

Cass, Stephanie, and Babs were all next. Rory had gotten them all bracelets to match and charms with a small arrowhead on them. Rory had gotten herself the same charm and clasped it onto the bracelet she kept from her parents. Of course, they all loved it and put them on immediately.

Last was Tim’s gift. Rory was nervous about this one, she didn’t know if Tim would like it or not. Handing it to him, she sat close to him and watched as he carefully unwrapped the statue of a dragon protecting a princess. Tim was silent as he looked at the statue, understanding the meaning of what it meant to her. Rory always called him dragon boy, and she had the same name as a princess. With a smile, he set it down and pulled Rory close, and pecked her lips. “I love it.” was all he said before she started smiling again.

The rest of them handed out their gifts, Rory getting more charms from the girls with different symbols that represented them as the charms from Babs, Cass, and Steph. Jason had gotten her a copy of _Sleeping Beauty._ It was an old copy and she could tell he was doing it as a joke but the sentiment was there and Rory loved it never the less. Damian had given her a carving of a lion, she sat and listened as he explained what lions symbolized in Arabic and she got a little teary-eyed from it. Lions symbolized strength, courage, ferocity, and royalty. He told her since her surname was Queen, she fit the description. Of course, Rory tried to hug him, but the little demon refused and pushed her off.

Tim’s gift was the last she opened, Tim now had an arm wrapped around her waist keeping her close to his side, and put his head on her shoulder to watch her unwrap. She carefully removed the paper and her jaw dropped. In her hands was a beautiful nutcracker, it was old a rustic looking but it was still beautiful and it even still had the wood smell to it.

“Tim, it’s beautiful.”

“I figured that it would be a good reminder of our first date, you know that got ruined by Harley Quinn but still a date none the less,” he said and looked at her. Rory ran her fingers over the carved markings and smiled this was one of the most beautiful things she had ever gotten.

Once presents were unwrapped, everyone sat back and ate from their goodie bags and talked about various topics. A popular one was what Christmas was like for Rory in Star City. “Well, most of the time the entire team is able to make it but on the occasion one or two can’t We open presents, we sit and talk eat and watch movies all day before we eat dinner. I just loved spending time with my family, and I love spending time with you guys. It’s like I have another family.”

“Well, you are always welcome here Rory.” Bruce smiled, as he ate a cookie. Rory gave him a smile back and looked at Tim, who was playing with strands of her loose hair that was flying everywhere. He didn’t notice her looking at him, he was so focused on those few strands and it made her giggle.

It wasn’t long before Alfred disappeared into the kitchen to finish up Christmas Dinner and Rory decided to help him, ignoring his objections. She always helped Oliver and Dinah cook, so she was going to help Alfred. Grabbing an apron, she tied it around herself and pulled her hair back.

Alfred gave her the directions for one of the dishes and she got right to work on making the green bean casserole. Tim had tried to come in and help, but the boy couldn’t cook for the life of him. The only one actually allowed in to help cook was Jason, the others only knew how to burn food and Alfred wanted none of them around.

With the help of Jason and Rory, Christmas Dinner was finished ahead of schedule, so everyone had time to go get changed into something nice to eat in. Rory took off the apron and pushed the loose hair back when she felt two arms wrap around her from behind.

Tim placed his head on her shoulder and smiled. “You know, you looked really cute in that apron and your hair flying out.” Rory rolled her eyes and turned in his hold to look at him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

The two of them stood like that, enjoying the small moment of silence before it would be ruined again. “I really do like your gift Rory, but I think you end up protecting me more than I protect you.”

“Well, maybe the princess wants to keep her dragon safe and make sure he feels loved?” she asked, tilting her head to look at him. Rory had still not told Tim that she loved him, but after what had happened the night before it made her realize that there was no time like the present. “I love you, Tim. I think I always have, and I always will.”

Tim’s smile grew hearing those words from her, “I love you too Rory.” he then leaned in and kissed her lovingly. Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer, Tim trapping her against the counter. Even after he pulled away, he still held her there with a dorky smile on his face.

Rory telling him that she loved him was the best Christmas present he could have ever gotten.

An hour later, everyone was at the table with Christmas Dinner laid out in front of them as their mouths watered with the scent of the food filling the air. They watched as Bruce carved the turkey and passed out pieces and everyone ate their favorite dishes. Throughout dinner, everyone was smiling and laughing at the jokes told and the stories mentioned.

Christmas really was the best time to be at Wayne Manor.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

It was a cold January night, the New Year had arrived, and with that came the resolutions. During the first week of the year, Rory and the others had seen a steady decline in crime sensing that the inhabitants of Gotham wanted to try and become better people. Maybe they had a family, a lover, or they just wanted to be better people. Whatever the reason was, it made it an easy week.

But like always, Gotham was filled with darkness and it always crept back to the hearts of her people.

The second week rolled around and crime started to pick back up, and with that came new schemes from Gotham’s Rogues to welcome the new year. Bruce stayed true to his word, Rory was not left alone in the streets of Gotham night or day and she never involved in a fight with one of the Rogues. He wasn’t careful enough once and it had cost him Jason, that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take again.

Rory refused to tell Oliver that the Joker wanted her, she even made Bruce promise that he wouldn’t tell at League meetings. She knew that the second he found out, Oli would fly his ass down to Gotham and hunt down the Joker before he could get to her abandoning his city in the process.

Usually, she was with Tim during the day, he had taken her to Wayne Enterprises multiple times to show her around and even stopped at a coffee shop, or four, while they walked. But when it came to patrol, she rarely left Batman and Robin’s side with the exception being Nightwing and Red Hood.

With their relationship, they all thought it was a good idea they didn’t patrol together. If someone saw Grey Arrow getting a little too cozy with Red Robin, that would put a target on Tim’s back and Rory refused to let that happen. Even with Bruce’s house rules, Tim stayed in her room through the night. He knew his fears were getting the better of him, but Tim wanted to make sure that Rory wouldn’t be taken in the middle of the night. So like usual, he stayed up the whole night working pushing the trivial thought of sleep out of his mind.

Grey Arrow was on patrol with Red Hood that night, Batman and Robin were paying the Riddler a visit and so he had him take her. Red Hood was her favorite to patrol with, the bond they shared was similar to that of a brother and sister. Hood saw her as the little sister he never had, and it made him that much more protective of her.

The two of them were standing on one of the many gargoyles in Gotham city, watching the streets for anything that they could handle. Red Hood was given one specific rule when he was with Grey Arrow and that was to stay away from the Rogues Gallery, and that was the rule he wasn’t going to break.

“You see anything Hoodlum?” she asked, tapping into the detective mode on her mask.

“Hoodlum, really? Hood wasn’t good enough for you Arrow?” he asked, a chuckled in his response.

“Aw come on, you gotta at least let me have some fun here. Most I get to do is beat up thugs and robbers, let me have a laugh.” she teased, her eyes scanning the upper east side of the city.

“Fine then, I get to call you Arrow-bat.” he grinned, watching the southeast side from his position.

Grey Arrow let out a groan, “That stupid name Harley came up with? No thank you.” Ever since Harley had said that at the ballet, the entire city of Gotham had taken to calling her the Arrow-Bat, not Grey Arrow, and truth be told it ground her gears a little. Of course, the most stupid name was what had caught on.

Their conversation was interrupted when Batman’s voice sounded through the com. _“I’m sending Robin to the both of you, I need to have a talk with Gordon. He’ll be more useful with you two.”_

Before either of them could respond, Batman cut the link, and minutes later Robin was standing there, his cape trailing in the cold breeze. “What are you two doing?”

“We, baby bat, are watching. Boss said nothing too big with Arrow-Bat so that’s what I’m doing.” Red Hood said, with a grin. Grey Arrow frowned and stood up from her perch and glared.

“Call me that again, and you get a first-class ticket to the ground. I dare you.” she threatened, with a small grin on her face. Red Hood crossed his arms, a grin hidden behind his hood, and jumped gargoyles until he was in front of her.

“Arrow-Bat.”

Robin watched as Grey Arrow whipped around and kicked Red Hood in the stomach and sent him off the gargoyle and down towards the ground. Of course, he had his grapple gun and brought himself back up to stand on another gargoyle, a few away from Grey Arrow. “You really like to push people off of buildings don’t you?”

“It is my favorite pass time you know.” she leaned against the wall next to her, still watching the city.

“Are we going to do anything or just sit here and watch you two push each other off buildings?” Roin asked. Right as those words left his mouth, Grey Arrow picked up on something happening with a police scanner.

_“Dispatch, there is a robbery in progress on Bell Street. Requesting back up, over.”_

The three of them glanced at each other and they all grinned. Finally, some action. Grey Arrow jumped off the gargoyle first, flying through the air as she plummeted to the floor. Pulling an arrow out, she grappled to a nearby building and swung to it holding tight.

Red Hood and Robin were right behind her as they all rolled onto the roof. “Race you there boys!” she called and took off running across roofs to get a head start.

“Not even a warning? You’re as bad as Nightwing Arrow, he doesn’t like to play fair.” Hood chuckled as he ran to catch up, Robin right behind him on his heels. Robin enjoyed going on patrol with Batman, but when he was with his siblings it was a whole new feeling. He was able to be freer and play around some, acting like a kid his own age.

Even though she had a head start, Red Hood and Robin caught up quickly their legs were longer and stronger than hers were. “Come on Hood, you’re losing your touch.” she grinned and jumped across a large alley with the biggest grin on her face.

“Am I?” he aimed his grapple gun at her and pulled her back so he could push into the lead with his laugh echoing across the rooftops.

“Fuck you, Hood!” she cried and got up to keep running. Pulling out another arrow, she shot a line into a wall right in front of them. Neither Robin nor Red Hood saw it before it was too late and they tripped on it, the string wrapping around the both of them as she ran past their tied up figures to where the robbery was.

“Revenge is sweet!” she grinned, stopping on the rooftop across from the robbery. The GCPD wasn’t there yet, and it was a minute before Red Hood and Robin joined her side.

“You boys need a minute to breathe?” she teased, adjusting the finger guard on her hand.

“That was a low blow, Arrow.” Robin frowned, “How dare you tie me up with him!”

Grey Arrow just simply rolled her eyes. “You get used to it.” she grinned and watched as Robin threw smoke canisters into the store before jumping through the window, shattering it with her feet.

Glass shards flew everywhere and the robbers were thrown into a panic. “It’s the fucking Bat!” one of them cried.

The smoke slowly disappeared and Grey Arrow, Red Hood, and Robin stepped out with their weapons bared. “No, we’re much worse.” she grinned and aimed an arrow at them.

“Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

One of them grabbed a DVD player and threw it at Red Hood’s head who simply just leaned out of the way. “Looks like it’s the hard way to me.”

Robin and Red Hood dove at the robbers as Grey Arrow covered the exit, making sure none of them got away before the other two could apprehend them. One of them crept out of the shadows and jumped at her.

Grey Arrow grabbed his arms and threw him over her shoulder and punched him hard enough to knock him out. Glancing at doors, she saw that there were more men than they had originally thought. Putting her arrow back, Grey Arrow dove into the fight.

She was back to back with Red Hood and Robin as they fought, Hood shooting them with rubber bullets, Robin swinging his swords, and Grey Arrow using her bow and fists to keep them at bay. One managed to get their arms around her and Robin jumped up and kicked him in the head, getting him off.

Both of them had dropped their weapons in the hustle and weren’t paying attention to which they picked up until Grey Arrow noticed that she had his swords and he had her bow. Not wanting to waste time, Grey Arrow aimed for the legs sending each man to the floor holding the cut on his thigh and Robin swung the bow, cracking them in the heads.

Once they got a chance, they tossed the weapons back to its owner and took down the last few remaining thugs. By the time the last one was out, the police showed up and the three of them grappled out of there onto a nearby building.

Once out of earshot, Grey Arrow let out a laugh. “Now, that was fun. Nice bow skills by the way Rob.”

He gave her a nod. “You weren’t too bad with a sword either Arrow, who taught you?”

“Green Arrow did, he was trained by the League of Assassins and he passed his knowledge down to me and Arsenal. You two have experience with them too yeah?” she asked, stretching out her wrist.

Both Red Hood and Robin nodded, Grey Arrow smiled and let out a laugh that was quickly cut short. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of black and orange. Without another word, she quickly turned and shot an arrow behind her with such speed the Flash would be proud,

She was startled to see nothing behind her but the building across the way.

Red Hood and Robin blinked, noticing what she had done after a few moments. “Arrow, you alright?” Hood asked, stepping towards her.

Grey Arrow didn’t speak, nor did she move. To the untrained eye, she seemed like a statue she was standing so still. Her eyes didn’t leave the building, watching for any kind of movement. She swore she saw it, the two colors that haunted her nightmares.

The atmosphere went from playful to tense, as she stared down the building the only thing in sight were the curtains moving in the wind on the top story window. Had he followed her here? She wasn’t exactly keeping a low profile, so it would be easy for him to find her especially since he knew of her identity too.

Robin stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder, Grey Arrow turned and shot the arrow at him out of instinct. He deflected it with his katana as a look of shock spread across her face. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“What the hell happened? It’s like you shut down or something, did you see something?” Red Hood asked, glancing at the building across from them. Grey Arrow shook her head and looked back at the building, she swore there was a glimmer of silver but was brought out of her thoughts when Red Hood grabbed her face and made her look at him.

The look on her face worried him, it was like looking at a stone. There wasn’t a trace of emotion on her face anywhere to be seen. “Alright, we’re going back to the cave.”

“Oracle, we’re coming back early.”

_“What happened, is something wrong?”_

Red Hood glanced at Grey Arrow again, she was staring at the building still as silent as the night air. “I’m not sure, you’d have to see it to believe it.”

_“Alright, I’ll inform Batman. Stay safe guys.”_

“Always am.” Hood then ended the call and he and Robin shared a glance. Whatever Grey Arrow had seen, it had shaken her to the core. “Get her bow,” he ordered. “I’ll get her back to the cave.” Robin gave him a nod and grabbed her black bow from her hands and started back to the cave.

Grey Arrow’s eyes narrowed, something wasn’t right and she knew it. Feeling Red Hood grab her, one thing rang in her head. That window wasn’t shut, but before she left there was another flash of orange and it was shut.

When the three of them got back to the cave, Barbara saw what Jason was talking about. Rory wasn’t talking, the second she got off the bike she scooted Babs away from the bat computer and logged into her suit footage.

Rory was sure she had seen it, there was no possible way she was wrong. Forwarding through the events of the night, past pushing Jason off the gargoyle, their race to the robbery, and the fight she stopped.

_Both Red Hood and Robin nodded, Grey Arrow smiled and let out a laugh that was quickly cut short. Without another word, she quickly turned the camera panning with her suit and she shot an arrow behind her with such speed the Flash would be proud,_

_She was startled to see nothing behind her but the building across the way._

She went back and rewound it, watching the same scene over and over. There had to be something there, she couldn’t have imagined it. It didn’t matter how many times she watched it, there was no flash of orange or black in her footage.

Letting it resume, the footage was silent other than Jason and Damian trying to get her attention. It came almost as soon as it left, the glimmer of silver she didn’t imagine. It was right there plain as day, a flash so subtle that she would have missed if she wasn’t looking for it.

Watching more, she saw that the window was open still but when Jason turned her to look at him and she turned back the window was shut and this time there was a flash of orange and black that she knew too well.

The cup of water she was holding fell out of her hand and shattered when it hit the floor. While she was searching, she hadn’t noticed that Dick, Steph, Cass, and Bruce had all returned. All of them tried to get her attention too, but Rory had tuned everything out. Tim had just entered the cave when he heard the glass shatter.

Looking over he saw Rory’s face and the glass at her feet. Jumping off his bike, he pulled the cowl off his head and rushed over. “Rory!” Everyone was looking at the screen, confused about what had her shaken up so badly. When Tim got to her, he grabbed her wrists and turned her to look at him.

“Rory, what’s wrong?” He searched her face for anything, but it’s like she wasn’t there. Sure she was looking at him, but she wasn’t. Rory was looking through him, trapped in her own thoughts. The orange was burned into her mind, he was there in Gotham and he was watching her.

Tim looked at the others for help, she wasn’t responding to anything he was saying. Damian watched as the others tried to bring Rory out of her shocked state, there was something they hadn’t tried and he wasn’t afraid to do it.

“Step back, let me try something.” The tone is his voice stunned the others, it was stiff but caring at the same time. Slowly the other took two steps back and Damian stood in front of Rory, her gaze didn’t shift and she didn’t flinch when he waved his hand in front of her eyes.

“Sorry about this Sonnet.” and he punched her across the face.

Feeling the force from his fist, Rory snapped back into reality and twisted Damian’s arm and kicked him to the floor, a knee pressed into his back and a hand pressing his face into the ground.

Damian hit the ground with an ‘oof’ and she realized what she had done. Quickly she got off of him and helped Damian to his feet “Sorry Dami.” she muttered.

He shook it off and waved his hand. “It’s fine, no one else could get you to react so I gave it a try.”

Rory’s face was still void of emotion, but she was responsive. Tim turned her towards him, grabbing her shoulders. “What the hell happened?”

“You remember when I told you and Jay that I didn’t know who was responsible for the death of my parents?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, we said that we would help you figure it out,” Jason said, leaning against the desk.

Rory swallowed and she looked around. “I lied. I know who is responsible for it, it’s the same man who’s responsible for the Grey Arrow,” she said, her eyes locking with Tim’s. He knew exactly what she was talking about, it was the night the White Arrow died.

“What the hell are you on about, princess? Are you saying Oliver killed your parents or something?” Jason asked, concern in his voice.

Tim shook his head. “No, she’s not talking about Oliver. Rory, you need to tell them the full truth about the Grey Arrow.” Rory looked up at him, she needed to tell them about the White Arrow.

“What does that mean?” Steph asked, looking between Tim and Rory.

“It means, I wasn’t always the Grey Arrow. I was someone else before that.” Rory started.

“You mean Arrowette?” Dick asked, he had worked with her years ago when Roy was still the Red Arrow and Jason was Robin as she was just starting out. Of course, he had no idea who she was until she came to the manor.

Rory shook her head. “Again, no. I was someone else between Arrowette and Grey Arrow.”

Bruce watched her, he caught onto what she was telling them. He had never gotten the full details from Oliver on what happened that night, just that Rory had gone through a lot.

“Will you stop with the cryptic answers and give something?” Damian snapped.

“I was Arrowette until I turned eighteen. It was then I had decided that I was ready for more and Oliver agreed so he helped me form a new persona to adapt. We both chose a color the represented me and what I fought for, and I became the White Arrow.” she explained.

The realization hit everyone’s face. The White Arrow was a hero who had pure intentions, but she fell off the face of the earth saying that she was killed in battle.

“Hold up, you were the White Arrow? But all the news coverage said that she died in a battle in Star City.” Jason spoke up.

“Did it say how she died?” Rory asked. Jason shook his head, “It was always vague on how or why.”

“That’s because I wasn’t dead. Not literally at least. That night the White Arrow died and Grey Arrow was born.” she explained.

“But what does that have to do with what happened tonight?” Barbara asked.

“Because the man that killed my parents and the man that I fought that night is the same person. What I did because of him, I couldn’t be White Arrow anymore.” Rory said, her gaze lowering to the floor.

“And that man you saw tonight, you know who he is?” Cass clarified.

Again Rory nodded. “Yes, what do you know about Slade Wilson?”


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the mature rating of the book really comes into play, so please read at your own discretion.

The day was February 12th, and it started like any other day. Rory woke up early in the morning with Tim wrapped around her, keeping her trapped under his body. It was a gloomy day out, with the sun hidden behind dark clouds. Almost all the snow was gone with March fast approaching and it was starting to warm up.

She had gotten good at slipping out of Tim’s death grip he had when he was sleeping, so that morning she got up and changed with ease before leaving her room and shutting the door. It had been three days since she had told the others about White Arrow and Slade, or at least most of the story. There were aspects that she wanted to keep private for now at least, them knowing that she had a history with the man known as Deathstroke was bad enough.

Quietly she walked down to the Batcave and logged into the computer. Deathstroke was in Gotham, and he was there for her and Rory was going to find out why. She wanted to go back to that building, but none of them would let her. With Bruce’s order of no getting mixed up with the bigger villains, that defaulted to Slade and it pissed her off.

All she could do was watch footage from security cameras, her suit, and anything else she could hack her way into, even going as far as using someone’s phone. No one was fond of that idea, especially Tim. After patrol, she would review her suit footage but nothing came up. Now that she knew Slade was there, she could feel his eyes on her everywhere she went and it didn’t help that he could hide as well as Batman if not better.

Rory was getting sick and tired of being sidelined, she knew that they all had good intentions but Rory knew she would have a better chance against Deathstroke than the Joker. She had fought him before and lived, but Rory had lost something that night.

Tim woke to feel the cold bed under him, opening his eyes he saw that Rory had yet again gotten up without him noticing. With a sigh, he got up and ran a hand through his hair before leaving the room. He knew that he had a bad sleeping schedule, but Rory was starting to scare him. She wasn’t sleeping, and when she was it was plagued with bad dreams.

He had tried to see if Jason could get her to open up, but she refused and shut him down quickly saying that she was fine and it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. Tim knew exactly where she would be, so he made his way down to the Batcave and saw her there sitting at the computer with her eyes glued to the screen.

“Rory,” he called, hoping she was hearing him. No answer. With a sigh he walked down and sat with her, she didn’t have to look at him to see the look he was giving her. Rory felt bad that she was worrying him this much, but the last time Slade came around it didn’t end well and she’d be damned if something like that happened again.

“How long have you been up?” he asked.

“Only about thirty minutes.”

“Did you eat?” he asked.

“Did you?” she countered.

Tim huffed a laugh. “Fair enough. Come on, get up.” He pulled her away from the computer and made her stand. “You are going to go take a shower and eat, I love you but you are starting to smell and I want you taken care of,” he said pushing her up the stairs.

Rory rolled her eyes and let him push her up the stairs and back to her room. Stopping outside her bathroom, she turned to look at him with a gleam in her eyes. “Fine, I’ll take a shower,” she said.

“If you take one with me.”

Tim’s heart stopped, she wanted him to shower with her? Bruce’s rules were in effect still, and the two of them abided by the rules eighty-five percent of the time at least. Surely taking a shower together would not break one of those rules right?

“Go start it and I’ll be there in a minute,” he said turning to lock Rory’s bedroom door before grabbing clothes for both of them, Tim having stashed a bunch in her room. When he entered the bathroom, he saw Rory leaning over the tub as she tested the water before turning on the showerhead.

He leaned against the door frame and watched as she closed the curtain and began to undress. setting the clothes down, he walked over and took her waist from behind leaning his face into her neck pressing soft kisses to her skin.

Rory shivered at the feeling of Tim’s hands on her bare waist, leaning her head ever so slightly to the side. Closing her eyes, she let his hands wander and finish undressing her enjoying the feeling of his touch on her body.

Tim chuckled softly against her skin, “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”

“You think I’m cute doing a lot of things Tim, most of those involve us not wearing clothes,” she said, pulling out of his hold and sliding his shirt up and over his head. Rory slid her hands down Tim’s chest, slowly tracing the light scars on his body from years of vigilante work.

“You have it wrong there Songbird, you’re not cute.” Tim took her chin, lifting her head to look at him distracting her from removing his pants. “You’re breathtaking, the sight of you squirming under my touch while you moan my name is not something I will forget.”

Rory watched as Tim’s eyes darkened to a deep cobalt blue, and she bit her lip. Maybe Bruce’s rules could be broken once more? With a grin, Rory climbed into the shower taking Tim with her. Once they were in, Tim grabbed Rory and lifted her against the wall kissing her deeply.

Rory’s hands went to his hair, kissing him just as deep letting soft moans escape her lips as he explored her mouth with his own. It wasn’t long before Rory was begging for Tim to touch her, which he happily complied to. Feeling his hands on her, Rory wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer, making both of them gasp softly at the feeling.

Tim loved seeing her like this, Rory always had a tough act on but when they had moments like this it was like she was a new person. Pressing kisses to her neck, Rory gripped his back digging her nails in and he watched as she unraveled under him, begging, pleading for Tim to keep going. He kissed down her collar, leaving soft marks with his teeth, making her moan louder with each one. Quickly he cut her off with a kiss, Tim didn’t want them to get caught because Rory was loud.

The more she kissed him, the more Rory needed him. His touch lit her body aflame, the burning desire she had only grown stronger. Tim let out a strangled moan as he slowly entered her, making Rory moan his name.

Rory kissed him harder, moaning against his lips as she felt him move within her making her stomach knot and her toes curls. She could feel herself getting close and muttered his name softly, and Tim wasn’t far off himself as her name slipped past his lips in soft whispers, feeling her come undone and he soon followed with a moan of her name.

Rory leaned her head on Tim’s shoulder trying to catch her breath, he had said that she was breathtaking but he literally took her breath away with each kiss and touch. Carefully he set her down, leaning in to kiss her swollen lips once more.

Rory’s head was fuzzy and her body was completely relaxed to the point she didn’t notice that Tim was washing her body for her, pressing kisses to her stomach, hips, and thighs. She ran a hand through his hair and he looked up at her as he washed her legs.

“Don’t go getting any more ideas Mr. Drake, I doubt we will be able to get away with more than once,” she said softly, watching as he placed another kiss on her inner thigh making her toes curl.

“It’s not my fault my girlfriend is so fucking beautiful.” he grinned and began to rinse her off, his hands not leaving her waist. Rory looked up at him, it was hard enough to resist Tim with that look in his eyes but with his hair wet and draped across his eyes it was that much harder.

Grabbing the sponge, she began to wash Tim’s body making sure to get every inch of him. She trailed her fingers over the muscle on his body, sending shivers down his spine. Rory grinned to herself, enjoying the fact that she could have that effect on him.

“You keep doing that, the entire manor will know what we’re up to and I don’t think you want that Aurora.” Tim groaned as her hands ghosted lower, grabbing them before she could do more to him than she already was.

“I think we’re both clean enough.” she smiled and turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping herself in the towel with Tim behind her doing the same. They both dried off and got dressed, not caring much about the fact that it was pretty obvious what had happened.

They left Rory’s room hand in hand, not noticing the fact that Jason was across the hall watching them with his jaw dropped. He was quick to put two and two together, the wet hair, glossy-eyed look, and the fact that they came out together told him exactly what happened.

Jason wasn’t the only one to notice, once Rory and Tim entered the kitchen other’s eyes widened. Both Rory and Tim were oblivious to the stares from the others even as they sat down and ate their food.

It was Dick that broke the silence. “Did you guys shower?”

Rory looked up from her food, about to put a piece of melon in her mouth. “I would think that’s obvious Dick, why else would we be wet?” she answered.

“Together?” Steph pressed, wanting to know the details.

Rory popped the piece of melon in her mouth and looked at her. “What gave you that idea?”

“The fact that I watched you two leave Rory’s room,” Jason said, leaning back in his chair crossing his arms.

“So what if we did? I don’t think that breaks any rules if nothing happened.” Tim said, sipping his coffee to hide the grin on his face.

“But something did happen didn’t it?”

“And how would you know that princess? Do you keep your ear pressed to my door or something?” Rory grinned at him as she ate another piece of melon.

Jason flushed and shrunk in his seat. “Fuck you.”

After breakfast, the day was relatively quiet. It was the weekend and no one had work or school to attend to and it had started to rain at about noon which made it perfect weather for movies and popcorn.

Rory was banned from picking movies because all she picked were musicals and after a while, no one wanted to watch them because the songs would get caught in everyone’s head so they had let Dick pick the movie, it being _Back to the Future._ Of course, when you watch the first, that meant you had to watch the rest so in the screening room the entire Wayne residence was sat watching _Back to the Future_ part 1, 2, and 3. By the time the third one ended, it was around the time for them to go out for patrol that night.

With everyone ready in the Batcave, Bruce gave out assignments only this time he left out Rory. Everyone was out of the cave and he was about to leave with Damian when she stopped him. “Bruce, why didn’t I get an assignment?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Because I want you safe, the others are going to do some digging and they can’t do that if you need to be watched,” he explained, putting the cowl on his head and said nothing more before he left with Robin.

Rory crossed her arm and frowned. Bruce was benching her, for her own safety and she wasn’t having it. No one was in the cave except Barbara who was watching the monitor. “Hey Babs, I’m heading upstairs,” she called.

Barbara tore her eyes away from the screen and looked at her. “Alright, try and get some rest Rory. You’re going to need it,” she answered and went back to work.

Rory walked up to her room and shut her door with a slam, making sure someone heard it. Grabbing her DVD, she put in _My Fair Lady_ and turned it up so it would be heard from outside the door, locking it from the inside. Walking out onto her balcony, Rory watched the rain pour around her.

Aiming an arrow, she shot it out at a tree and slid across it. She wasn’t going to sit in her room benched when she could be looking for hints to Slade Wilson and why he was in Gotham. It took her longer than she expected, but she arrived on the outskirts of the city and began to make her way to the building from before.

She stayed quiet, and low to the ground not wanting to get the attention of the others, especially Batman. As she zipped from one building to another, Grey Arrow saw something out of the corner of her eye. When she landed, she turned and aimed an arrow only to see Nightwing there giving her a look.

“What the hell Nightwing, you scared the shit out of me.” she snapped.

He let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Once I learned you were benched, I only knew it was a matter of time before you snuck out.”

Grey Arrow rolled her eyes and put the arrow away. “What gave you the impression?”

“Who do you think invented sneaking out of the manor? Oracle told me that you went to your room and I knew what you were doing.” he crossed his arms and looked down at her. “Be happy it was me who caught you and not the others, I know of two reds that would kick your ass for this.”

“What? Are you going to send me home then, give me a slap on the wrist.” she snapped.

Nightwing shook his head. “No, I’m going to help you. If you want to get back before Batman and the others we better get going.” and he grappled off towards the building. Grey Arrow watched him with a shocked expression before shrugging and following him.

It didn’t take long before they landed on the roof of the building. “What floor was the window on?” he asked, turning to look at her.

“Top floor, it should be right under us,” she answered and shot an arrow into the floor before dropping down and swinging into the room. Needless to say that she wasn’t surprised to find it empty. If Slade really had been watching her, then he knew that she knew and would have moved his things to a new location.

Both Grey Arrow and Nightwing searched the room not finding anything visible. Turning on the detective mode, Grey Arrow searched the room again and stopped seeing something on the ground by the window. Crouching down she got a better look at it and saw that there were three markers from where a tripod was previously set.

“Hey Nightwing, what do you make of this?” she asked. He walked over and looked at the markings, running his fingers over them.

“It was a tripod, if he was here then what did he have set up?” he asked.

“A gun, a camera? This is Slade Wilson we’re talking about here,” she answered, Nightwing laughed at her comment and stood up to look around some more. They didn’t get much more looking done before the door was kicked down, both Grey Arrow and Nightwing turned and saw a bunch of large and armed men there looking at them.

“Looks like the tip was right, the girl was here and she has a bat with her.” The one in front said.

Grey Arrow and Nightwing looked at each other, they had walked into a trap. “Kill the bird, get the girl.”

Quickly the two of them sprung into action, Nightwing hitting the men with his escrima sticks and Grey Arrow shooting them down with her bow. There were so many men, that she had actually run out of arrows.

“Well fuck. Time to get creative,” she muttered and began to fire various objects with her bow, hitting the ones that had gotten too close. Grey Arrow didn’t notice how close to the window she got until her back was pressed against the frame trying to keep herself from falling out. Nightwing was occupied with multiple thugs to notice how dangerously close she was to falling out.

The thug in front of her grabbed her by the collar and held her halfway out the window, taking her bow and throwing it to the ground outside. Grey Arrow grabbed at his hand, trying to get him to let go, only making him grip her tighter. He flashed her a smile. “Try getting out of this one.” and pushed her out the window, Grey Arrow falling to the ground.

Nightwing looked over to see her fall out “Arrow!” he kicked and punched his way out in order to get to the window to see if she was alright.

Grey Arrow landed in the dumpster below with a loud crunch, crying out in pain. Looking down at her side, there was an iron rod sticking out of her. Carefully she reached behind her and felt that the rod was not that long, so she could risk moving about with it still in her. Taking it out would unclog the wound and she would bleed out before she could get help.

Biting back her screams, Grey Arrow climbed out of the dumpster and fell on her hands and knees. The pain from the rod was unbearable, but Nightwing was still up there fighting off the thugs.

_“Arrow, you alright?”_

She pressed her com, “Yeah, just have a metal rod in my side is all. Good thing I got my tetanus shot right?” she chuckled weakly.

“A good thing indeed." 

Grey Arrow’s blood went cold. She recognized the voice, she didn’t even have to have had met him to know who he was. Her head perked up only to be met with the barrel end of a gun aimed right at her head, the owner in a tacky purple suit with terrible white makeup on his face.

She glared at the man in front of her, "It seems we finally meet.”

“It seems so, my dear.” he grinned and nodded at something behind her. Before Grey Arrow could even get a look, she was hit with something and everything went dark.

Nightwing had just put down the last thug and he looked out the window expecting to see Grey Arrow, but all he saw was the dark street below. Quickly he jumped out the window, landing on the ground. He swore that she was here, she had to be. His foot stepped in a puddle, but upon closer inspection, he could see that it wasn’t water.

Frantically he turned, trying to see if she was anywhere nearby taking shelter from her fall but Grey Arrow was nowhere in sight. He ran a hand through his hair and cursed loudly. How was he going to tell Tim?

“Oracle, Arrow disappeared, can you trace the tracker in her suit?” He asked, quickly.

_“I got her location, it’s just a few miles from where you are. I’ll send you to coordinates.”_

Nightwing looked at the coordinates, and it was just up the street. Taking off in a run, he followed the marker until it made him turn down an alley. Carefully he walked down it, keeping an eye out for something to pop out or Grey Arrow. According to the marker, he was right on top of her.

It was then he heard a faint beeping, he followed the noise and saw that it was coming from behind the dumpster. Carefully, he followed the beep his heart dropping from his chest when he saw what awaited him.

Stuck to the side was a bloody piece of cloth that held Grey Arrow’s tracker, and a playing card he recognized too well. He pressed his com, plucking the fabric and card from the side and holding it tight.

“Guys, we have a problem.”

Batman’s voice was the first to respond. _“What’s the matter Nightwing?”_

“It’s Rory, the Joker has her.”


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, again what the Joker does to Rory is not good. It's going to get dark for a while here, so please be careful reading this.

Rory woke with a groan and a massive headache, barely remembering what had happened before she blacked out. Taking, a guess she was hit with something and was knocked out giving the Joker and whoever he was with, a better chance at capturing her.

With that last thought, quickly her head shot up and looked around. Rory noticed that she still had her mask and most of her suit on, minus the jacket, utility belt, and her boots. It looked like she was in a warehouse of sorts, but Gotham was full of warehouses so it would be nearly impossible to find her disregarding the fact that she might not be in Gotham still.

There was a sound to her left, and her head jerked in that direction to see the door open and in walked the Clown Prince of Crime himself along with two of his goons. “Oh good, the little bird is awake. Wave hello to the camera sweetheart.” he grinned, pointing to his left.

Looking in front of her, she saw a camera set up attached to a computer. He was probably sending this to Bruce and the others. Rory clenched her jaw and glared at him, “You really think you can keep me here?”

The Joker laughed at her words, it echoing off the metal walls. “Keep you? No no no no, I’m going to have fun with you.” he grinned and walked over to the camera and started to record.

“Hiya Bats! Long time no see eh? Well, I got a surprise for you.” he laughed and turned the camera to look at Rory her glare only getting darker. “I found this little bird stranded outside in the cold, seems like someone clipped her wings. Don’t worry, I’m taking good care of her I mean she isn’t dead yet.”

Rory had forgotten about the rod in her side, looking down she saw that her suit was bloodstained but it had dried. The Joker had her patched up, but why? She looked around, trying to analyze a way to get out but nothing was going to work if she didn’t get out of the chair first.

The Joker turned the camera to look back at him as he set it back on the stand before walking towards her and grabbed her hair, jerking her head to the side as she winced. “You know, there’s a reason I wear a hood, you cheap Pennywise looking ass,” she growled.

Her words only made him laugh harder. “You have a mouthy one on you Bats, she’s funny.” He grabbed her face, but she pulled back and bit his hand as hard as she could making him yell in pain before backhanding her across the face.

“Don’t you touch me again.” Rory threatened, “or I’ll make sure to take off a whole finger next time.”

“Mouthy and morbid, geez you really know how to pick them. Are you sure she’s even a goody-goody like you?” he laughed and summoned one of his goons over who punched her. Rory’s hair fell in her face as she licked her chapped lips and chuckled lightly.

“Is that the hardest you can hit? Robin hits harder than yo-” He punched her again, and this time it was hard enough she saw spots in her vision. Adjusting her jaw she looked at them.

“Good thing I have a great dentist, want his address?” another punch was sent to her face making her yelp in pain. “It’s 5227, Freak Circuit.” More punches were sent to her face that was sure to leave a bruise.

The Joker stopped him after the eighth punch, Rory’s lip was bleeding as she spat out the blood pooling in her mouth and looked up at them. “Is that the best you can do?” she taunted.

Truth be told, Rory was terrified but she wouldn’t let it show at least not on camera. If she let the others, especially Tim see how she really felt it would make them worry more than they already were. The Joker was different than any other person she had faced. The man was criminally insane and he enjoyed it, he beat Jason to death seven years ago and blew him up. She was not about to let him do to her, what he did to Jason.

Before the Joker could respond she stood up, her arms still tied to her chair, and kicked them back. Rory turned and hit the goon with the chair making him fall to the floor before she used his body to jump off of and land on the chair and smashing it under her weight.

She got to her feet with two wooden stakes in her hand and glared at the Joker and the other goon in the room.

“Note to self, no more wooden chairs,” he muttered before sending the man next to him to fight her, several more coming into the room to try and subdue her. The wound in Rory’s side was burning, but she had to ignore it as she hit each thug with one of the stakes and kicked them back

One managed to wrap his arms around her, and she stabbed one into his thigh and kicked him back, making him fall to the floor. With only one stick left, she threw it at the last thug before jumping on him and bringing him to the ground head first.

Her side was in even worse pain, gripping it she looked around to find the Joker. Hearing a click, she felt something press to the back of her head. Of course, he had a gun on him. 

“You know, you’re making this very difficult. He didn’t say you would be this big of a problem.” The Joker taunted from behind her. Rory slowly put her hands up in surrender before swing her leg around and kicking the gun out of his hand, rolling to grab it off the floor. She stood straight and aimed it at the Joker, right between the eyes.

It was the Joker who put his hands up in surrender with a grin. “What are you going to do, shoot me?” he laughed. “That would break a couple of Batman’s rules.”

Rory cocked the gun, her chest heaving in anger. The look on her face was calm and collected, except her eyes were filled with rage. The Joker saw the look in her eyes and grinned, “Oh, but you don’t play by the rules right? I can see it, you’ve killed before but are you going to kill me too?”

Rory didn’t move, keeping the gun aimed at him. “You said ‘he’, who is that?” she demanded.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Rory’s glare darkened, he was taunting her. Somehow, he knew what she did and he was baiting her. “You think you can get me to kill you? You’re right, I have killed before and I don’t play by the rules.” she grinned. “I make them.”

Flipping the gun in her hand, she grabbed the barrel of the gun and threw it at the Joker’s head before breaking off into a run as her bare feet hit the cold concrete. Kicking the door open, she took off down the hall and ran into several more of his thugs he had waiting. She let out a groan and ducked under their punches, and avoided their kicks. Rory was in no condition to take on this many men again, she needed to find a way out.

Looking around, she saw a window and darted towards it but was stopped when she heard two gunshots. It took her a minute to realize what had happened, her head was throbbing as she fell to the floor and gripped her shoulder that had two bullet holes in it. She felt someone grab her by the hair and began dragging her back to the room where the Joker was waiting on her.

As they entered, the thug who held her threw onto the for at the Joker’s feet who stared down at her with a gleeful look on his face. “Back so soon?”

She sat up on her knees, gripping her shoulder, and looked to see him standing above her with the camera in his hand, focused on her. “Don’t forget to smile at the camera, we don’t want bats to think you aren’t enjoying yourself.” Rory glared, wincing from the pain in her shoulder.

“Fuck you.”

The Joker sent a kick to her side, and she let out a cry of pain falling to the floor onto her back. The fucking clown kicked the wound in her side, of course, he did. With a gleeful laugh, he sent another kick to her side but harder.

Rory was flipped onto her stomach, gripping her side with one hand and biting the other to keep her cries in. She was not about to give him the satisfaction of making her scream. Wincing, she felt him kick her side again multiple times, Rory gasping in pain trying to catch her breath. The wind was knocked out of her and she could barely breathe.

“You know, this is no fun when you don’t make a sound. Give me that.” He snapped his fingers and one of the goons handed him a glass beaker of a green liquid. “Now, tell me how this feels.”

Rory felt something being poured onto her side with the hole, the pain was white-hot. It was so hot, she couldn’t hold back a scream of pain as the liquid burned her flesh and her wound. Tears were falling from her eyes, but she hid them not wanting the camera to catch them.

The Joker stopped pouring the liquid on her with a laugh. “How did that feel, and remember to be honest.”

Gasping for air, Rory’s arm struggled to hold herself up. “Why don’t you just fuck me with a chainsaw while you’re at it? I’m sure that would hurt more.”

The Joker was slightly stunned at her words before he bent over laughing. “You are way more fun than the last one and way more vulgar, I’m going to have a blast breaking you.”

Rory’s hair covered her face as she clenched her fist. “You can’t break something that’s already broken, you birthday clown knock off. And I thought you were supposed to be smart, but apparently, I was wrong.”

With her comment, the Joker kicked her in the side while the pain from the liquid he poured on her still burned. Rory cried out and rolled into the wall before falling back onto her stomach.

“Anything you’d like to say before I cut the tape?” he grinned, zooming in on Rory. She refused to look up at the camera, Rory was not going to respond to him the way he wanted even if it was going to kill her.

The Joker didn’t like how she ignored him, he grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head to look at him. Rory winced gripping her shoulder, shaking slightly from the pain in her shoulder and side as she looked at him. “Pull my hair again, I’ll kick your ass.”

He threw her to the floor and turned the camera back on himself. “Those are some lovely parting words, I hate to leave you Bats but I am a busy busy man with an unexpected guest and all and there are some things I need to take care of. See ya soon!” The joker turned off the camera and turned to look at Rory.

She managed to lean herself against the wall, her shoulder bleeding still, and the wound on her side starting to bleed again. “You really think they won’t find me?” she muttered. “You couldn’t even kill the last one right, what makes you think that you will break me?”

“Because a friend of yours gave me all the information I need to do it.” he grinned and turned his back on her and grabbed something she couldn’t see. “Now, let’s have some real fun.”

The Joker turned to face Rory again, and her eyes glanced down at what he was swinging in his hands. Her face paled, it was a bo staff but she recognized that specific one. It was then Rory knew what friend he was talking about. Everything made sense, the Joker’s sudden fascination with her, how he knew where she would be, and more importantly, that one piece of her past she wanted to stay hidden.

Deathstroke was the one who put him up to this, and he was going to make sure she suffered in a way that not only hurt her but those close to her. That’s why he chose the Joker, he knew of Jason and what had happened when he was Robin and he knew that Rory was not only close with him but the others that have been hurt by the Joker.

Rory looked up at him, as he stood over her with the staff. “Bring it on, bitch.”

*****

Dick was sat in the cave with his head between his legs as he waited for the others to come back. The only ones that were there were Alfred and Barbara and neither of them was able to comfort him, he was the reason Rory was gone and he knew it. What he dreaded the most was seeing Tim.

He heard someone pull in, and knew from the sound that it was a bike and not the Batmobile. Looking up, he saw Jason basically toss his bike to the side and throw off his helmet as he ran over to Dick. Right after Jason pulled in was when Bruce pulled in with the others right behind him.

Jason grabbed Dick by the collar of his suit and glared at his brother. “What the hell did you do?”

“Jason, let him go!” Bruce commanded, Alfred walking over and pushing the two of them apart. No one would be stupid enough to try and start something with Alfred in the middle. The others ran over and stood by Dick waiting to hear the story.

“What happened?” Dick looked over and saw Tim there, looking at him with a concerned look.

“She snuck out, the second you benched her I knew what she was going to do. So, instead of doing my normal thing, I kept an eye out and waited for her to show up and sure enough, she did.” Dick explained.

“She wanted to go look at the building she thought she saw Slade in and I went with her. I figured that you would rather someone still be with her even if she snuck out. We took a look around and saw that there was evidence of him being there, but we were interrupted when a bunch of gang members walked in and started a fight.”

He looked at the others and dropped his head. “I didn’t notice how close she got to the window until I watched one of them throw her out. I wasn’t able to get to her before she hit the ground, but she said she was okay except for a metal rod in her side.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“That was the last thing I heard her say before I looked out and saw that she was gone. I asked Babs to track her and I found this.” Dick held up the bloodstained cloth that held the tracker and the Joker card.

Bruce took it from him and examined the card. “I already ran tests on the blood, it’s hers,” Dick explained. “Barbara has been searching everywhere she can to see if there is a trace of Rory we can pick up.”

Once he finished, he finally looked at Tim. “I’m sorry Tim. I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep her safe.”

Tim let out a shaky sigh and looked at Dick, “You did what you could, you didn’t let her go out alone which would be worse. We’re going to find her, and bring her home.” Dick let out a small sigh of relief and hugged Tim.

Jason crossed his arms, “You shouldn’t have made her sit out on this Bruce, you really should have known that she would follow us out anyway. I mean, did you learn nothing from the rest of us?”

Bruce hung his head, with a sigh. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have made her stay home, but Tim is also right. We’re going to find her, and we’re going to do it together.” He put his cowl back on and made his way back to the Batmobile.

“Father, where are you going?” Damian asked, watching Bruce walk away.

“I’m going to go see what I can find, get a snack and we’ll leave when you are ready. Tim, I want you to stay and help Barbara run surveillance and see if you pick up on something she doesn’t. The rest of you, it’s your choice if you go back out or not.”

Damian quickly got up and ran to the kitchen to grab himself a snack, there was no way his father was going to leave him when Rory needed help. Once he got to the kitchen and grabbed multiple snacks before eating them as he walked down the stairs.

“Grayson, I got you a snack. I grabbed some for the others, but I got hungry and ate them on the way down.” he walked into the cave to see everyone huddled around the computer and the cave was dead silent.

“Grayson? Father?” he walked down taking a bite of his snack to see what they were looking at. Pushing past the others, he saw that there was a video sent to them addressed to Batman.

“Guys, what is that?” he asked.

Tim looked at the video, none of them wanted to click it. His heart was beating out of his chest, he knew who the video was from but feared what it contained. Slowly, he grabbed the mouse and clicked on it making it play.

_“Hiya Bats! Long time no see eh? Well, I got a surprise for you.” The Joker’s face appeared on the screen and laughed. He grabbed the camera, the movements shaky with his hands, and turned it to show Rory tied to a chair with a glare on her face. She still had her mask on, but her external suit was gone leaving her in a tank top and pants “I found this little bird stranded outside in the cold, seems like someone clipped her wings. Don’t worry, I’m taking good care of her I mean she isn’t dead yet.”_


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

Everyone in the Batcave had their eyes glued to the screen, watching as Rory sat there and took every punch while still fighting back and it put Tim on edge. With every insult, he held his breath afraid that the Joker would just get tired of her and kill her too but it seemed that he wasn’t going to kill Rory, at least not now.

Steph was next to him and gripped his hand tightly. She could see just how much the video bothered him, but he couldn’t leave not without knowing if Rory made it out alive or not. Tim watched with wide eyes as Rory fought her way out of the chair using her weight to crush it before using the sticks to hit the thugs with them.

His grip on Steph’s hand tightened and he saw the others tense when Joker put the gun to her head. _“You’re making this very difficult, he didn’t say it would be this hard,”_ he said while still holding the gun, but in the blink of an eye Rory kicked it out of his hand and held the Joker at gunpoint.

Tim didn’t have to see the look in her eyes to know that she was angry, her chest rose and fell quickly and her body was unnaturally calm. He knew that if Rory was aiming at him, she was aiming to kill.

_“What are you going to do, shoot me?” the Joker laughed, his hands raised in mock surrender. “That would break a couple of Batman’s rules.”_

_Rory cocked the gun, her chest heaving in anger. From the angle of the camera, only the back of her head was visible, but it was obvious how she felt, “Oh, but you don’t play by the rules right? I can see it, you’ve killed before but are you going to kill me too?”_

_Rory didn’t move, keeping the gun aimed at him. “You said ‘he’, who is that?” she demanded._

_“Wouldn’t you like to know?”_

_Rory didn’t move, he was taunting her. Whatever it was he was talking about, it only made her angrier “You think you can get me to kill you? You’re right, I have killed before and I don’t play by the rules.” she grinned. “I make them.”_

They watched as she threw the gun, hitting the Joker in the head, and took off out the door. The video was silent other than a few grunts and thuds before there were gunshots. Tim’s heart started beating faster and his hands began to shake, there was no sign of Rory and he was scared. Steph could feel him shake and she gripped his hand tighter to remind him that she was there. Looking down at her, he gave her a small smile. Tim couldn’t afford to have a panic attack, not now when he had to find his missing girlfriend.

Everyone let out a breath when one of the thugs drug Rory in the room by her hair and they all saw that she was still breathing and that the gunshots landed in her left shoulder.

_The camera moved and the Joker held it down to put Rory in focus. “Back so soon?”_

_Rory was sat up on her knees, gripping her shoulder, and looked up, her face swollen and her shoulder bleeding. “Don’t forget to smile at the camera, we don’t want bats to think you aren’t enjoying yourself.” Rory glared, wincing from the pain in her shoulder._

_“Fuck you.”_

The next few minutes were torture to Tim, he stood there and watched as the Joker kicked her in the side whimpers leaving Rory as she tried to hold it in. He knew what she was doing, Tim would do the same thing if it were him. She knew that if they heard her cry out in pain, it would only worry them more but the Joker seemed to notice this too.

He was handed a green liquid and with a grin, he began to pour it on her side.

Rory’s screams of pain echoed off the cave walls, and tears welled up in Tim’s eyes as he was forced to watch the girl he loved to be hurt over and over. Barbara covered her mouth and turned away unable to watch anymore as Dick rubbed her shoulder in comfort and Jason stood there like a statue.

The two of them had the worst run-in with the Joker, and it showed as they watched Rory suffer at his hands. Barbara began crying softly, worried for her friend as the screams died down.

_“How did that feel, and remember to be honest.”_

_Rory pushed herself off the floor, shaking slightly trying to catch her breath. Looking up, she glared at the Joker. “Why don’t you just fuck me with a chainsaw while you’re at it? I’m sure it would hurt more.”_

Tim’s jaw dropped, why the hell would she say something like that in front of a maniac? He winced as he watched the Joker kick her again making her cry out in pain.

_“Anything you’d like to say before I cut the tape?” he grinned, zooming in on Rory. She refused to look up at the camera._

_The Joker didn’t like how she ignored him, he grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head so she looked at the camera. Rory winced gripping her shoulder, shaking slightly from the pain in her shoulder and side as she looked at him. “Pull my hair again, I’ll kick your ass.”_

_He threw her to the floor and the camera panned back to his face. “Those are some lovely parting words, I hate to leave you Bats but I am a busy busy man with an unexpected guest and all and there are some things I need to take care of. See ya soon!” The Joker turned off the camera and the screen went blank._

Everyone was silent, they didn’t know what to say or to expect. How were they going to find her if her suit tracker was ripped out, and the room she was in gave no context? The Joker could have taken Rory out of the city by this point and they were all standing there watching a video of her getting beaten by the Joker.

Jason was the first to speak. “When I find her, I’m going to kill him.” and took off grabbing his helmet, and got on his bike driving out without another word.

Tim walked over and looked at Barbara and Dick. He could see the guilt written all over their faces, Rory had snuck out and they knew and neither of them took her home. “Hey, why don’t you get some rest Babs, I’ll take a shift.”

She looked at him and gave a small smile. “Alright, be careful Timmers,” she said softly before Dick led her out of the cave. Turning around, he saw that Bruce and Damian were both gone and so was the Batmobile.

Steph and Cassandra stood there and watched him. “What are you two doing here?”

“We’re here to keep an eye on you, what we just watched… I can’t get her screams out of my head.” Steph said softly. Cassandra looked at her with a sad expression.

“I can give you both locations of various places to look while I run things here, I’ll keep an eye out,” he said. Both Steph and Cass nodded before getting up and climbing on their bikes and heading back out.

Tim sat in the chair with a sigh and looked through the different video feeds from Jason, Bruce, Damian, Steph, and Cass. Now that he was alone, Tim couldn’t hide his anger anymore. He stood up and hit the desk with a yell. The sound of his fists echoed as he let out a choked sob pushing items off the desk and sending them flying. Turning around, he yelled and kicked the chair over before sitting on the floor letting the tears fall.

He had no clue if Rory was still alive, and it scared him more than anything has before. The thought of losing Rory made his stomach curl and he felt sick, getting up he ran to get a trash can before vomiting into it. Tim cried softly as he wiped his mouth, there was nothing he could do to find Rory and take away all the pain she was feeling. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Alfred approach him from behind.

Alfred placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder, making him jump a little. Quickly he turned and saw Alfred there with a sad smile on his face. Tim hugged Alfred as tightly as he could, trying to stop more tears from falling.

“Master Tim, it’s okay to cry. You’re worried, you’re scared, it’s normal. Just because you have never seen Master Bruce cry doesn’t mean he hasn’t.” he said, holding Tim tight to his chest.

“Alfred, you didn’t see the video. She’s out there somewhere and I can’t do anything about it.”

Alfred made Tim look up at him, “You know more than everyone else just how smart Miss Aurora is, knowing her she is trying to drop hints to find her. I know it hurts, but watching that video again might give you a clue.”

Tim let go of Alfred and nodded, wiping his eyes once more. “You’re right. She is way smarter than she looks, and would try to drop hints to where she was located.” He walked back to the computer and pulled up the video once more, and hit play watching the footage to comb through and find something that could help save her life.

That was three weeks ago.

Rory had been missing for almost a month and it was taking its toll on everyone in Wayne Manor. Everyone was always working, there had to be a clue somewhere to show her location but every time they thought they got close, something happened and threw them for a loop.

The first thing Jason did was check every known warehouse in Gotham and any nearby cities as well. He also took to the criminal underground and threatened that if they didn’t find her, he would shoot them on sight.

Dick, Bruce, and Damian stuck to the rooftops, that was where they could see everything. Everyone was scared of them, and criminals ran away when they saw them coming. Dick still hadn’t stopped blaming himself, even when Barbara, Tim, Jason, and even Damian had told him that it wasn’t his fault.

Steph and Cass took to the streets. keeping an eye out during the day and night. The press hadn’t caught wind that Rory was missing and it was part of their job to make sure it stayed that way.

Roy, Jesse, and the rest of the Outlaws were looking in cities further from Gotham in case The Joker decided to take her far away to throw them off, and they weren’t having much luck.

Barbara was working overtime as Oracle, so Tim decided to bench himself and help her. If he didn’t do it to himself, Bruce would have because Tim was getting too violent on patrol and neither of them wanted him to regret his actions if something were to happen.

Oliver had tried to come down to Gotham, but Bruce had told him that he was needed in Star City more and the second they got something new he would know. Roy had come to town and was able to calm Jason down some, he was mad and he was worried about Rory. Watching the videos that the Joker sent them of Rory, brought back bad memories from before.

The videos came every few days, and each one was worse than the one before. Rory was looking worse and worse, the color had drained from her and she was covered in bruises and burns. But, no matter how bad it got Rory never quit fighting. In every video, she was still throwing insults and trying to fight back and get out of where she was being held captive. But that made every video hard to watch, it got to a point that Barbara, Dick, and Steph had to leave unable to handle it.

The most recent video was sent in and Tim was sat in the chair watching it, scanning it for anything that could give him a hint to where she was.

_Rory had her hand-tied above her and was hung from the ceiling as the Joker walked around her, swinging a knife around in his hands. “What? Did you finally run out of insults? It only took you a month.” he grinned._

_Rory’s eyes followed him as he circled her, the knife tracing the skin on her side where her wound from the metal rod was. “What do you think, you Krusty the Clown rip off? Honestly, cartoon clowns are way funnier. You’re the reason why no one likes the circus.”_

_The Joker stopped and dug the knife in deeper to her side, making her wince slightly and pull away as it drew blood. “I’m honestly surprised you have lasted this long, with the last one it was only a few days. But you, you are still kicking almost a month later!” he laughed._

_Rory glared at him. “You want to know my secret?” she asked. “I don’t fucking care.” She swung her legs up and wrapped them around the Joker’s neck trying to suffocate him. The Joker struggled under her hold, managing to stab her leg with the knife in his hand before throwing a punch to her stomach._

Tim watched the video again and looked at the scenery, maybe there was something he was missing. With a sigh, he dropped his head in his hands. At this rate, they were never going to find Rory.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t hear Jason pull in on his bike and sit down with him before going through the videos again himself. “Anything new Replacement?” he asked, as he sat down drinking a bottle of water.

Tim shook his head, his hair was longer and it was starting to hang in his eyes but he didn’t care. The only thing he cared about was getting Rory back, and kicking the Joker’s ass. Jason narrowed his eyes as he watched his younger brother, he had never seen Tim work this hard even when it was a big case. This time, he had personal stakes in it and he was going to see it through to the end even if it killed him.

“Tim, when was the last time you had a good night's sleep?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“February 11th.”

Jason’s eyes widened, Tim hadn’t slept very much in the three weeks Rory had been gone and if he wasn’t careful he was going to get hurt or make himself sick. Rory wasn’t there to make him sleep, and the others are constantly working and not noticing because they themselves aren’t sleeping much.

“You need to take a nap.”

“I’ll sleep when she is back.” Tim snapped.

“No, you won’t, because you’ll stay up all night to make sure she doesn’t disappear. You’re lying to me and yourself, if you don’t go and get a couple of hours of sleep I will personally knock you out so you will.” Jason knew Tim all too well, he was protective and cared so much for those close to him. There was a time when Jason was injured badly and wasn’t sleeping well so Tim took it upon himself to hang out in his room so Jason would feel comfortable and so he could make sure that he was alright.

“If you can’t tell, I’m busy. If you’re going to keep bothering me, go away.”

Jason was taken back by the tone in his voice, Tim never spoke to anyone this way even when he was angry. It was all the sleep, coffee, stress, fear, and worry about Rory that was making him act this way, and Tim was going to take a nap if Jason had anything to say about it.

He got up and walked to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee before he put a small dose of a sedative in it. It was tasteless and odorless, so Tim wouldn’t notice it especially in the state he was in. Going back down the stairs, he put the cup down next to him.

“Timbo, I know you’re worried but we all are. I brought a peace offering.”

Tim looked over at the cup and picked it up before taking a big drink of it and setting it back down. “Apology accepted.”

“That wasn’t an apology, but this is. Sorry kiddo, I had no choice.”

Tim stopped drinking his coffee, he had almost downed it into two gulps and set the mug down. “What did you do to the coffee?” he asked, turning his head slightly while Jason stood behind him.

“You refuse to sleep, and we both know that Rory would kick your ass for this. I’m sorry, but you’re welcome at the same time.” He said, crossing his arms.

Tim looked back at the cup and eyed it before he turned on Jason. “You drugged my fucking drink, didn’t you?!” He got up to step towards Jason, but the sedative was already taking effect. Tim’s movements were sluggish and his eyes started to droop.

Jason stood there and watched as Tim tried to fight it off, only to start falling asleep standing up. He walked over and picked Tim up over his shoulder and started to carry him up the stairs. “You’ll thank me later.”

“Fuck you Todd…” he drawled, his speech getting slurred.

Jason rolled his eyes and opened the door to Tim’s room seeing that it was a mess. There were papers everywhere with strings attached to them, and various items on his bed that made it nearly impossible to sleep on. “I swear, you and Dickiebird are the biggest slobs I know.”

He turned on his heel and started to walk towards his room, passing Alfred in the hall who gave Jason a skeptical look as he carried a drugged Tim down the hall. Kicking the door open, he dropped Tim on the bed and pushed his feet onto it as well. Jason could see that Tim was still fighting to keep his eyes open, but was losing the battle quickly.

“I need to find her….”

“I know, and we will once you get some sleep.” That was the last thing Tim heard before his eyes closed and fell into a deep sleep.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

As Rory sat in the chair, she could feel how weak she was getting. It had been weeks and she was still playing Joker’s prisoner, every day he would come in a try to piss her off to the point where she would kill him but every day it didn’t work. Since she worked out the fact that it was Slade who put him up to this, she knew what he wanted. Slade wanted her to kill again, and spiral further before he finally killed her himself.

When it didn’t work, the Joker took to his favorite part; torturing her. Of course, the wound on her side was still injured and he used it to his advantage. The Joker figured out pretty early on just how high her pain tolerance was, and what would make her scream but not what made her angry.

Her body was sore, and her throat was dry. Of course, no one was courteous enough to let her take a shower, or even wash her hair so it was matted and went everywhere. Her suit was dirty and covered in blood, grime, sweat, and dirt. Her bow and quiver were missing along with her utility belt, Rory had a feeling they tossed them somewhere in a dumpster.

Every day she reminded herself of what was important, it was easy to lose yourself in this situation and Rory refused to let that happen. No matter what the Joker did to her, she refused to kill even if it meant he killed her instead. At this point, she partially hoped that he was getting tired of her and would just put an end to all this but then she would think of Tim. Rory didn’t want to put that kind of pain on him, nor did she want Oliver, Dinah, and Roy to hurt like that either.

She worried about Tim more than anything, what was he doing and how was he handling it? She wasn’t there to make sure he took care of himself, and she was sure one of the others would make sure he at least ate something. Her thoughts wandered to the others, especially Barbara and Jason.

They were hurt by the Joker, Barbara was paralyzed, and Jason was literally murdered by him. She really hoped that they didn’t see the footage the Joker sent to Batman and that Tim wasn’t seeing it either.

Right on schedule, the Joker walked in with four of his goons at his side. He held something in his hand, but Rory couldn’t see what it was from her spot and the dim lighting. “Hello, birdy! How’d ya sleep?” he laughed, swinging the item in his hand.

Rory’s eyes followed him, as he walked to the camera and turned it on. She saw the light go green and she knew it was recording. “I slept great, metal chairs are ever so comfortable. We should switch places so you could see.”

The Joker laughed, “Wow, you really don’t give up, do you? Why, do you want to beat me around some?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, I see you brought more friends. Are you scared that I’ll find a way to kick your ass with a metal chair too?” she asked, blowing her hair out of her face. She noticed that they were holding several buckets of what seemed to be just plain water.

“Ever so feisty! Go on boys, drench her!” he said, and beckoned them forward. Each one held a large bucket of water, what the hell was he planning on doing to her with it. Rory watched as the first one dumped the bucket on her and she gasped, it was ice cold and she shuddered in the chair.

“Oh great, I was just thinking about how I needed a shower. I was worried that I was the only one who noticed the sm-” she didn’t get to finish before another bucket was dumped on her, Rory inhaling some and began coughing. Her hair fell in her face and she could barely see anything.

“Save the other two for later.” The Joker called. Rory tried to blow her hair back but it still stuck to most of her face. She noticed that he was closer than before, and what it was that he was holding.

It was an old-looking crowbar, and he was waving it around with a large grin on his face. Rory knew what he was doing, and it wasn’t going to end well.

“I want you to meet a friend of mine, I named it Robin. You know, after the brat I blew up? Apparently, he didn’t stay dead, and you got to meet him. Tell me, does he still remember me?”

Rory clenched her fist, he was changing tactics. The Joker had figured out that he couldn’t break Rory by just hurting her, he had to hurt others to make her snap. “Yeah, I know him. You must be a real shitty clown if you couldn’t kill a fifteen-year-old.”

“I remember it well.” he grinned and swung the crowbar, stopping it right before it hit her chest. “He was tied up much like you are, but without the chair. I remember the sound of each crack as I hit him with this same crowbar.”

Rory’s eyes didn’t leave him. The Joker swung it again, tapping her on the stomach. “Crack.”

He tapped her on the shoulder. “Crack.”

He tapped her on the back. “Crack.”

He tapped her on the back of the head. “Crack.”

Rory closed her eyes, trying to keep the image of a young Jason out of her head. She didn’t want to think of someone she cares about in that much pain, it hurt her to think of it. The anger was bubbling up inside her, Rory tried to keep it at bay but with every ‘crack,’ it would rise higher, and she was close to snapping.

She bit her lip so hard to keep herself from yelling in anger, her lip was starting to bleed. Her heart was beating so hard, it made her ears pound and her breathing ragged. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to take the crowbar to him but she didn’t.

The Joker could see that he was getting to her. “What? Too much?” he grinned.

Rory looked at him and glared at him. “Go to hell.”

At her words, he began laughing. “You have more self-control than I gave you credit for, I can tell you want to do something to me. Come on, say it.”

Rory stayed silent, she refused to say what she was thinking and give him what he wanted to hear. That he was starting to break her down, by threatening her family. “I said, go to hell.”

This time, he didn’t laugh. “You know, you should really do what you’re told.” The Joker backed up and Rory saw him grab something off a table that was attached to a cable. Following it, she saw that it let right to the puddle of water surrounding her, and right, where it touched the cord, was cut slightly.

Looking back at him she laughed. “You’re going to electrocute me? That’s the best you can do?”

Rory was good at masking the emotions in her voice, but it was her eyes that gave away what she really felt and she was terrified. She was covered and surrounded by water and was sat in a metal chair. Rory was a perfect conductor for electricity.

She watched as he pressed the button, Rory letting out a scream of pain. This was by far the worst pain she had felt, electrical shock coursed through her body making her twitch and scream wishing it would stop.

As soon as it came, it was gone. Rory dropped her head, panting softly as tears fell from her eyes. The water on her face covered it up some, but anyone could see that they were tears if they were close enough. Before she could even catch her breath, the pain was back and she started screaming again.

The Joker held the button for longer this time, letting it go a few seconds after the last time with a huge grin on his face. “Why don’t you just kill me already,” she muttered, her hair covering her face.

The Joker walked over and lifted her head, Rory too tired to fight back. “Because that would be too easy.” he then swung the crowbar and hit her fully in the stomach, making Rory gasp in pain making it impossible to breathe.

He hit her several times, satisfied as he heard her bones crack under the metal. After a moment he stopped, and Rory was minutes from falling unconscious. Walking back to the camera he turned it off and took the tape out. “Wonderful show darling, now be good and I might have a surprise for you tomorrow,” he called.

Rory looked up slowly and watched as he headed towards the door. “I heard from a friend that you are close to a certain bat brat, maybe I should pay him a visit for you and bring some flowers as a gift.” he grinned.

Her face drained from color. He was talking about Tim, Slade had told the Joker about her relationship with Red Robin and he was going to use it against her. “I swear if you hurt so much of a hair on his head-”

“You’ll what, kill me?” he grinned. “That’s what I’m hoping for.” and he walked out, leaving Rory there alone with her thoughts.

*****

When Tim woke hours later, his head was throbbing. He sat up and rubbed his forehead trying to ease the pain, he was so exhausted that Jason was able to drug him and make him sleep. Deep down he knew that he did it for good reasons, but he had lost hours of his time that he could have spent looking for Rory.

He stretched with a yawn and looked at the clock, it was almost midnight and that meant that the others would be leaving for patrol soon. Getting up, Tim quickly noticed that he was in Jason’s room. He must have put him there once he saw the condition Tim’s room was it.

Rubbing his eyes, he left the room and shut the door behind him. Tim walked down to the kitchen and grabbed himself a cup of coffee and some cookies. There seemed to be a constant supply of cookies, Alfred was a stress baker. With Rory missing, Alfred was worried and spent his time making cookies. Tim could tell that Alfred was baking to try and calm his mind while trying to cheer everyone else up, and he loved him for it.

With his cup and cookies in hand, Tim walked down to the Batcave once again. “Jason, you ever sedate me again and I will find your copy of Shakespeare’s works and drop it in a blender.” When he got down to the cave, he saw that everyone was there talking.

Jason looked up from the gun he was cleaning and grinned. “Hello, sleep well babybird?” he grinned.

Tim frowned and threw a cookie at his head, drinking more coffee. “I mean it, you sedate me and I will blend your books.”

“You touch my books and I will give your computer a bath.” Jason threatened, cocking his gun in a threatening manner.

“Boys seriously?” Barbara asked, looking over at them from the computer. “Tim, don’t touch his books. Jason, next time maybe just punch him unconscious. He would stay asleep longer.”

Tim looked at her in shock, “Wow, that’s cold Babs.”

“You’re the idiot refusing to sleep, next time I’ll knock you out.” she grinned, “But I am glad that you look better, you have some color to your cheeks and don’t look like you belong in _The Walking Dead._ ”

“If anyone belongs there, it’s Jay,” Tim argued, Jason just simply rolling his eyes.

“That’s so original Timbo, it’s like I haven’t heard every zombie joke in the book,” he muttered and looked over at Bruce who just entered the cave.

“Tonight, we’re going to do another sweep of the city. Tim, I need you to come so we can cover it in less time. Can I trust you to keep it together?” he asked, looking at the boy who was cradling a cup of coffee.

“You can count on me Bruce,” he said, finishing his coffee. “I feel better and a little nicer, so I think I’ll be okay.”

Bruce gave him a nod. “I want you all to stick in pairs still, we don’t know what’s going on but I don’t want someone else getting taken.” Everyone gave him a nod.

“We leave in twenty, get your gear and anything else you need.” and he walked away.

Bruce was going alone, so Damian paired with Dick and Tim paired with Steph, leaving Jason and Cass together. They were all about to get on their bikes to leave when they got a message with another video.

All the chatter stopped and they looked at each other, another video meant that she was alive right?

Barbara hesitated, but she hit play. Watching the video, Tim stayed behind her his eyes not leaving Rory. They all could see how weak she was, her hair was a mess and she looked tired, Tim was worried. He watched as they dumped two large buckets of water on her before the Joker came into focus with something in his hand.

Listening to him recount what had happened in the past, only pissed Jason off more. He could see Rory struggle to keep herself quiet, it hurt her to hear what had happened in gruesome detail but it hurt Jason more to watch her.

When he electrocuted her, he saw Tim blink away tears as he watched. Seeing this happen hurt Tim more than anything and that didn’t sit right with Jason. No one hurt his family and got away with it.

_“Why don’t you just kill me already,” she muttered, her hair covering her face._

_The Joker walked over and lifted her head, Rory too tired to fight back. “Because that would be too easy.” he then swung the crowbar and hit her fully in the stomach._

The cup Jason was gripping, cracked and shattered in his hand as he watched the Joker beat Rory with the same crowbar he beat him with. Jason had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t let anyone else fall to this fate, and yet here he was watching it.

When he stopped, they watched as he laughed while Rory trying to catch her breath, and the screen cutting off after that. At the end of the video, they could see that Rory was beaten down physically and mentally. Her comments had stopped and she looked defeated.

With silence washing over them all, they knew what had to be done. Rory wasn’t going to last much longer, they needed to find her and fast no matter what it took.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

Tim sat on top of a building near a bank and watched as several men filed in and out of the building holding large bags. From the way they dressed, he could tell that they were employed by the Joker. They all wore clown masks and were quiet and efficient. Gotham was full of people that you wouldn’t want to piss off, the Joker was at the top of the list along with Batman, Red Hood, and several others.

Quietly, he jumped across and walked his way around the dome top of the building and dropped behind it with a soft thud as his cape draped around him in soft motions. The ground was still slick from the rain earlier that day, and there were puddles everywhere. His goal was to stop the robbery and interrogate one of them in hopes that he would have the answer to where Rory was being held.

He had told Bruce that he was okay to patrol, but after watching that last video Tim wasn’t so sure of himself anymore. Hearing the broken tone of Rory’s voice as she asked him to kill her, broke his heart.

Red Robin approached the guards from behind and swung his staff around in his hands. “So, are any of you going to tell me why you decided to make a withdrawal this late at night?” he asked, propping it over his shoulder.

All of them turned to look at him, and Red Robin swore he saw them smile. Normally, none of the criminals smiled when they saw him. Instead, they would turn and run, but they stood there and smiled. “Hey, isn’t that the bat boss wants?”

The playful attitude Red Robin had was gone, the Joker was looking for him and he had a good idea as to why. “Well, since your boss wants me, why don’t you tell me where he and my friend are and I might let you off with a warning.” He swung his staff around and held it out.

The thugs laughed at his warning, “Like we’d tell you.” then they charged at him.

Red Robin, hit each of them over the head with his staff and kicked them back as they got close. The thugs at the front of the bank, heard the struggle and dropped what they were doing, and ran around to see what was happening.

Looking around, Red Robin could see that he was getting outnumbered. As he fought off the thugs, he looked for a way out. As he looked, he didn’t see one come up from behind and hit him in the back. Red Robin fell forward with a cry of pain and felt something stab him in the side.

“The boss doesn’t actually want you, just a piece of you.” one said and kicked him over before stopping Red Robin in the shoulder. Yelling in pain, he grabbed the hand holding the knife and bent the wrist making the thug let go from the pain.

Quickly he got up and removed the knife from his shoulder and threw it to the floor. “Knives hurt, you shouldn’t play with them.” He stretched his neck and kept fighting them off while pressing his com. “Hey guys, I’m going to need a little help here.”

 _“Where are you Red?”_ Nightwing’s voice sounded.

“Gotham General Bank, I found a bunch of Joker thugs here and apparently I am a target. Going to need some backup.”

_“Copy that, I’ll be over there soon. Stay safe.”_

Red Robin’s shoulder was starting to hurt and his fighting was suffering from it. While he waited for Nightwing to show up, he had gotten hit and cut multiple times one of them even tore a small piece of his suit off.

It wasn’t until his shoulder was about to give out that Nightwing dove off the roof and landed on several of the thugs and bounced off them. “Hey there Red, need a hand?” he grinned and kicked a few thugs back.

“I did call for a reason you know.” Red Robin fought alongside Nightwing until the thugs were either unconscious or had escaped. Looking around, they saw that one of them was still awake but couldn’t run away.

Nightwing walked over and held him against the wall. “What were you and your buddies doing here huh? And why did Red here tell me that he was a target?” The thug looked at the both of them, not looking the slightest bit afraid.

“You want information about your little friend huh? Well, here’s something. She ain’t gonna live much longer, once the Joker gets what he wants out of her there’s no point in keeping her alive.” he grinned.

Red Robin frowned and punched him hard enough his head rebounded off the wall he was being held against. “Where is she?” he growled.

“I’m not telling you shit.”

He punched the thug again but harder, “Tell me where she is! Now!” he shouted. Red Robin was about to punch him again, but Nightwing caught his fist to stop him.

“Red, stop. You’re going too far,” he warned.

Red Robin looked at him and let out a sigh, Nightwing was right. He was letting his emotions and worry about Rory get to him again, with a groan he gripped his side that had a bad cut on it. “We’ll tie them up for the police to take care of, I’m heading back. I’m going to see if I can find anything.”

Leaving Nightwing there to clean up, Red Robin took off and headed back towards the cave. Once he arrived, he got off his bike and walked over to the medical table, and peeled off the layers of his suit. His shoulder was pretty bad, but he had other cuts on his side, chest, back, and stomach.

Tim had gotten sloppy out there tonight, and he couldn’t risk something bad happening. He stitched up his shoulder, chest, and side and was working on his stomach when Jason pulled in, he looked exhausted.

Seeing the video hurt him more than he let on, watching Rory be put in the same position brought back bad memories he had just spent the night trying to forget once again. He saw Tim struggle to stitch his stomach and he let out a sigh.

“Just because I’m bad at asking for help doesn’t mean you need to follow my example babybird.” He watched as Tim finished his stomach and tied it off.

“You’re my big brother, I’m supposed to follow your example Jaybird.” he chuckled and looked at his back. Jason rolled his eyes and stood behind Tim and began to stitch up the few cuts he had.

“Did you have any luck with finding her?” Tim asked quietly.

Jason was quiet as he stitched, not wanting to lose concentration. “No, not really,” he answered after a while. “What about you? Did you find anything?”

Tim shook his head. “No, just some thugs saying that the Joker wanted a piece of me. I think he knows about me and Rory, and nothing good will come of that,” he said softly.

Jason looked around and saw that Barbara was working at the computer while Dick pulled in. Steph and Cass had run their shift earlier and were in their rooms asleep. He thought about Roy and what happened the last time he saw him.

He was the one to tell him that Rory was taken by the Joker, and needless to say, Roy was pissed. Roy had experience with the Joker through what Jason had told him, and he knew how ruthless he could be. Thinking of Rory locked up there made Roy call up Jesse and the others to start searching as well. They all cared for her, so they decided to join him.

“Are you having any luck, Babs?” Dick called.

She shook her head. “No, those thugs know how to dodge all possible cameras and it’s nearly impossible to track them. I’ve been trying to follow patterns, see if they lead somewhere but again nothing.”

“How did he know where the tracker in her suit was? It’s a small piece of cloth, so he had to have known the exact location of it to cut it off her suit.” Tim said softly, wincing as Jason tied up one cut and moved onto the other.

“I don’t know Timbo, Roy said Oliver put the tracker in their suits in different locations so if you find one on him, it won’t be in the same place on Dinah or Rory. He also told me the Oliver put a tracker in his- holy fuck.” Jason stopped stitching Tim’s back in shock, how the hell did he not think of this before?!

Tim tried to turn, panicking that Jason had done something to his back. “Jay what happened?” he asked. “What did you do to my back?”

Jason walked over to the computer quickly and grabbed Barbara’s chair. “Babs, I adore you but I need the computer.” he kissed her cheek wheeled her away, and kicked the chair Dick was sitting in, making him roll away. “Move it Dickiebird.”

Jason pulled up the very first video they had received and skimmed through the footage.

_“Good thing I have a good dentist, want his address?” another punch was sent to her face making her yelp in pain. “It’s 5227 Freak Circuit.” More punches were sent to her face that was sure to leave a bruise._

Jason stopped it there and let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “She gave us a clue the very first day and we were all too fucking stupid to notice it.”

“Jason, what the hell are you talking about?” Barbara asked, rolling her chair closer.

“Roy told me about the trackers in their suits but he also told me that there was a tracker in one of their back molars in their mouths. Each of them has a different frequency, 5227 is Rory’s, and she fucking told us weeks ago.”

Jason stood there as he typed quickly, rerouting the tracking system to look for Rory’s tooth tracker.

“She wasn’t saying freak circuit, she was saying freq circuit as in a frequency!” Dick cried. They all looked at the screen where a tiny green blip was blinking showing that not only was Rory still inside Gotham but exactly where the Joker was keeping her.

*****

Rory opened her eyes and saw that she was in a different position this time. She was once again tied to the ceiling by her hands while her feet dragged on the floor. It must have been a while ago that she was hung here because her shoulders were starting to hurt and she tried to take the weight off them.

Ever since the Joker threatened Tim, there was a bubble of rage building inside Rory and she couldn’t stop it. Tim was the one person she didn’t want to be hurt, and if the Joker really did manage to hurt him there would be hell to pay.

Looking up, Rory saw that her hands were cuffed with large black prison cuffs. She knew she could get herself out of these but it was going to hurt like a bitch, not that it could be worse than being beaten with a crowbar and electrocuted. With a grunt, she slowly flipped herself upwards and wrapped her legs around the beam so she was hanging upside down.

Taking a deep breath, she popped her thumb out of place with a small cry of pain. Trying to keep her whimpers in, she started to slide her hand out of the cuff only to hear voices and footsteps coming her way. The escape was going to have to wait until later.

Slowly she lowered her legs and straightened out, right as the door opened and once again the Joker walked in but there was a spring in his step and a cheerful smile on his face. Something had happened.

“Remember that surprise I told you about, well I think you’re going to love it.” he grinned and walked over, stopping in front of her. Out of his pocket, he pulled out a small piece of fabric that she recognized too well.

It was red, and the woven design of it was similar to that of her own suit. What had caught her eye the most was the blood on it, staining the fabric a darker red. He had gotten a piece of Tim’s suit, but how the hell did he get that? There was no way he would be able to get that close unless…

“Where is he?” she growled.

“Oooh, skipping the funny insults and straight to the questioning. Where is who my dear?” the Joker grinned, waving the fabric around and he paced back and forth in front of her.

“You know exactly who I’m talking about. I’m only going to ask this again, where is he?” Her voice had dropped to that dangerous tone, and the Joker knew that he had successfully pissed her off like he wanted to. A few more well-chosen words and she was ready to snap.

“Oh, you mean that red bird of yours? Wouldn’t you like to know, but what do you think of your surprise?” he laughed. Rory glared daggers at him.

“What did you do to him!?” she screamed, worried that the worst had happened. Rory knew that Tim was careful, but much like her and the others, he tended to get a little reckless. That recklessness was what got her caught in the first place.

The Joker grinned watching her scream at him. “What did I do? Are you sure you want to hear it? I mean it is quite brutal, I’m not sure you’ll be able to handle it.” He circled her and laughed as he watched Rory try to keep her anger under control.

“It was simple, a group of my guys had caught him. The boy was outnumbered of course and they brought him to me, now being the gracious and caring man that I am showed him mercy. I had them tie him up and I got to give him a welcoming gift very similar to yours.”

Rory tried to block out his words, part of her knew that it wasn’t real. There was no way Tim had gotten himself caught by the Joker, Jason would literally kill him before that happened. But there was that small voice nagging the back of her mind if Tim really wasn’t here then how did he get a piece of his suit. The Joker had to have been close enough to him to get it.

“He begged me to let you go, keep him, and let you free. But what kind of person just lets his pets free before housebreaking them?” he grinned. “It was quite satisfying to see him crumple before me, yelling in pain as he whispered your name before he took his last breath.”

“You fucking liar!” she roared. The anger had passed the bubbling point, and she couldn’t keep it hidden. “He isn’t here, I know he isn’t!” she screeched.

“If he wasn’t here, then how did I get this?” he held up the fabric piece again, making her look at it.

“You’re a fucking liar and a goddamned coward. If you really had him, I would know,” she growled.

The Joker laughed watching her and kicked her in the stomach before punching her across the face. “But you have no proof if I am lying or not.” he punched her more.

The anger built up in her, it was at dangerous levels now. Her chest was heaving vision red while her ears were ringing. Whether or not Tim was here, he still hurt him and that was the last straw.

Rory kept her head down, staring at the Joker through her matted hair. “I don’t care how long it takes. It won’t be today, it won’t be tomorrow hell it might not even be within the next three years,” she said and chuckled. “You won’t see me coming, no. But you’ll know that you’re next.”

Finally, she looked at him. “When I get the chance, I’m going to show you what real terror is. I’m going to kill you and I’m going to fucking enjoy it.”

The Joker only grinned at her words. “That’s what I was wanting to hear, but alas I can not let you go. My job here is not yet done, but it will be soon and then I’ll let you go.” he grinned.

Rory’s eyes narrowed, her stare filled with rage as she watched the Joker waltz over to the camera that she noticed was recording the whole time. He had taped her openly admitting that she wanted to kill him

Her jaw clenched as she watched him pause the recording and replay the scene for her, making her listen to her own words. Slade and Joker had finally gotten what they wanted, Rory had snapped.

“I’m going to have more fun with you still, so be a good bird and don’t go anywhere.” he grinned and left through the door. Rory wriggled trying to get to him as he left, a cry of anger leaving her lips

“I’ll fucking kill you! You hear me!?” she screamed, as the door shut.

Now that he was gone, Rory flipped herself back up and used her feet to push against the ceiling to try and slide her hand out of the cuffs. She had managed to get one hand out when she heard explosions come from behind the door. Noticing that there was smoke coming from the door, Rory quickly popped her other thumb out of place with a small cry.

Forgetting that she didn’t have her legs wrapped around the bar across the ceiling, she fell once her second hand was free, and hit the ground with a hard thud. Rory let out a cry of pain feeling that she landed on something on the floor. Reaching behind her she saw that she had landed on the crowbar.

Rubbing her back, she looked around the room for something when more explosions went off and they seemed to be getting closer.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

Rory didn’t know what the hell was going on, all she knew was that things were blowing up and she needed to get herself out of there while the Joker and his goons were distracted. With a grunt, she slowly got to her feet as she gripped her side. Rory could tell that there were a few cracked ribs at least, but she pushed through the pain and walked to the door.

Grabbing the handle she opened it, but as she opened it someone came in from the other side and threw the door open knocking her back onto the floor with a hiss of pain. Looking up, she saw that it was one of the goons from earlier. The Joker must have sent him back to see if she was still around.

The goon looked down at her with a grin. “Boss said you might try to escape,” he pulled a gun out of his back pocket and cocked it. “I’m curious, how did you get out of those?” he aimed the gun at Rory who was flat on her back trying to catch her breath and gripping her stomach.

“Broke my thumbs, hurt like hell too. Want to give it a try?” she taunted, panting softly.

The goon chuckled and walked closer so he stood above her and got on his knees, keeping her pinned to the floor. “Well, the boss said that if I found you trying to escape, I could just kill you. Looks like it’s my lucky day.”

“I wouldn’t consider this lucky.” Rory lifted her knee and hit him in the gut before kicking him off of her and rolling to her feet. “One thing you idiots never understood, if I could kick your ass tied to a chair then I could still kick your ass without hands.”

Getting to his feet, he aimed the gun at her and narrowed his eyes. “Then let me make this quick and painless for you.”

Rory darted to the side and barely missed the shot, it grazing her side. She gripped it tighter and saw the blood seeping through her tank top. The goon aimed again and Rory dodged too late this time, the bullet hitting her square in the thigh.

She let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground on her knees, she saw that the bullet went straight through. That was a plus to her negative situation. Looking up, the goon had the gun pressed against her forehead with a grin on his face.

“Say night night, little bird.”

Rory rolled onto her back and kicked the gun out of his hand, and flipped onto her feet. Both of them saw the gun several feet away and they ran. Ignoring the pain in her thigh, she dove for the gun and grabbed it not thinking before she shot him in the head.

The goon fell to the floor with a thud, a bullet between the eyes. Rory laid on her back frozen in shock at what she had just done. Her eyes stared at the lifeless look of the man in front of her as she slowly got to her feet, keeping her grip on the gun.

It was her or him, and Rory made the choice. She kept telling herself that her options were limited, and she didn’t have any other choice. Rory’s hands started to shake, the gun rattling in her hand. She would have died if she didn’t kill him first.

Rory kept telling herself those things over and over, convincing herself it was the truth. But was it?

She suddenly felt sick to her stomach, seeing the blood and brain matter seep out of his head made her stomach twist and she bent over and threw up. There was almost nothing in her stomach, so it was all stomach acid and it burned her throat.

Hearing noises behind her, Rory wiped her mouth and hid behind the opened door holding the gun still. It was a pair of footsteps, two people to be exact and they were heavy so she expected it to be two grown men. The power was flickering in and out, so she could barely see anything.

She heard them stop in front of the open door. Everything was silent for a moment before she heard them walk in. Taking a deep breath Rory crept out from behind the door, going behind the two men to try to and get out the open door while she could.

One or both of them must have heard the pads of her feet because the taller one of the two straightened out and turned. Rory turned on her heel and went running out of the room, but not before she was grabbed around the waist. Two arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her back into the room.

Quickly she flipped herself up and wrapped her legs around his neck and pulled him to the floor with a loud thud. Her thigh was still stinging in pain as she got up and tried to run again, only to be grabbed by the ankle. Rory hit the ground letting out a cry of pain and tried to kick him off of her.

“Princess?”

She quit kicking and froze, only one person called her that. The power flickered back on and she saw the faces of Nightwing and Red Hood, the latter still keeping a tight grip on her ankle.

“What the fuck took you guys so long?”

Red Hood let go of her ankle and helped Rory to her feet. “Holy shit, are you okay?” he asked, holding her up.

“Oh just peachy, being held captive for almost a month was on my bucket list you know?” she snapped, her grip on the gun tightening.

Nightwing’s eyes gazed down and saw the gun in her hand and quickly turned around to see the man lying dead on the floor. “Arrow, did you do that?” he asked, walking forward slowly. Red Hood looked and he too saw the gun in her hand and made the connection.

Slowly he reached forward and took her hand that held the gun. “Why don’t you let me take this off your hands princess?” Red’s hand grabbed hers while the other took the gun and set it on the floor.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Red Hood could see the look in Rory’s eyes, she had killed someone and she was scared by it. Rory gave them a slight nod. “He grazed my side and got me in the thigh.” Bringing the attention back to her thigh, it began to hurt worse and her stance wobbled.

Nightwing caught her and held her up. “You’re going to be alright, let’s get you out of here.”

“Wait, where is he?” she asked, looking up at the both of them.

Red Hood and Nightwing looked at each other in confusion. “Where’s who, the Joker? Probably halfway to Timbuktu after he saw us come blazing in to find you.”

Rory shook her head. “No, where’s Red Robin?”

“He’s back at the cave, with Oracle. Red’s going to be okay princess, I promise.” Red Hood said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Rory stepped back and shook her head again. “N-No, you don’t understand. He said he had him here, Joker showed me a piece of his uniform and-and…” she began to stumble over her words as she tried to get them out, suddenly Rory felt like she couldn’t breathe as tears ran down her face.

Nightwing grabbed her face and made her look at him, his eyes meeting hers. “Arrow, Rory, listen to me. He is okay, I swear. The Joker didn’t get to him, I made sure it didn’t happen I promise. We need you to calm down before we make an escape, can you do that for me?”

Rory looked at Nightwing, his blue eyes shining through the mask while the power continued to flicker. She could tell that he was being honest with her, taking a deep breath she wiped the tears and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

Nightwing stood straight and picked her up carefully. “Red, where’s the nearest exit?”

Red Hood pointed out the door. “At the end of the hall, there is a window we can jump out of. But we better be quick, we’ve already wasted enough time.”

Nightwing gave him a nod before poking his head out the door, keeping Rory close to his chest. Seeing that the coast was clear, he silently walked down the hall with Red Hood right behind him watching his back.

Once they got to the window, he set Rory down carefully and opened the window. Looking out it, he saw that it was a straight drop. Their best chance was to jump and grapple out towards the next building.

“You go first, and take her with you. I’ll be right behind you.” Red Hood nodded and wrapped an arm around Rory’s waist as she wrapped hers around him to hang on tight.

“Hood, I swear if you drop me I’ll kill you,” she muttered, making him laugh.

“Don’t know if I should take your death threats seriously or not. Hang on tight princess.” Red Hood jumped out the window and grabbed his grapple gun before he fired it, grabbing onto the closest building. Rory tightened her grip on him and closed her eyes as she felt the fresh night air for the first time in a while.

Once they left, the building more bombs began to go off. Joker must have had safety precautions set in place. Making sure the other two got out safe, Nightwing jumped out and followed them as he grappled onto the next building where Red Hood and Rory were waiting on him.

When he got up there, he saw Jason had removed his helmet and took off Rory’s mask that somehow stayed on the entire time. Rory was sat on the roof and leaned back against the railing with her eyes closed and an arm draped across her stomach.

Taking a deep breath, she let out a cough. It hurt her to do anything and should probably go to a hospital, but there was something she needed to do first and that was to go see Tim. She felt Jason wrap gauze and a bandage around her thigh to stop the bleeding and checked her for any other serious injuries, the topic of what she did before they had arrived still hanging in the air.

Rory had a feeling that they roughly knew what had happened that night with Slade now, and they knew for sure that she had shot that guy back in the warehouse but she didn’t know what to say. Sorry for breaking the rules? Sorry for killing him before he killed me?

She took a deep breath and decided it was best to say something simple.

“You guys, are fucking idiots. 5227 Freak Circuit? I literally could not have been more clear than yelling hey, I have a fucking tracker in my tooth and the frequency number it was.”

Jason let out a chuckle, watching her as she opened her eyes. “In our defense, it was cryptic as hell and even Bruce didn’t pick up on it.”

Rory rolled her eyes. “But I’m sorry, for everything. For sneaking out, getting myself thrown out that window, for shooting that guy…”

Nightwing knelt next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright Rory, everyone makes mistakes. You went through a lot in the last few weeks, and we both understand. Now, we need to get you to the hospital. Just by looking at you, you have multiple cracked ribs, one or two are broken, and a fractured collar bone and you need nutrition and rest.”

“No offense big bird, but she needs to go to the cave first. A certain someone will have our heads if we don’t bring her to him first” Jason said, putting his helmet back on his head and standing up as he pulled Rory to her feet carefully.

“It’s obvious she can’t go across the rooftops, and our bikes are a few blocks away. How are we going to get her there?” Nightwing asked.

“I’ll be okay until we get to the bikes, I can handle it,” Rory spoke up, shifting her weight.

“I can carry her as I grapple down the street, maybe you can go ahead and beat us there to get some things ready.” Red Hood said, giving Nightwing a look that told him to make sure Tim knew that Rory was not in good condition.

Nightwing gave them a nod. “Alright, don’t you lose her Hood. It was hard enough to find her once, I don’t want to do it again.” He dove off the roof and took off for his bike that was waiting for him uptown.

Red Hood held Rory close to him again as he grappled uptown as well, to get to his bike. He had to go slower because he held Rory and didn’t want to hurt her more than she already was. Once they got to his bike, he sat her down on it carefully and looked in the storage compartment for something.

Rory watched as he rummaged for something, letting out an ‘aha’ as he pulled out a leather jacket and a spare red helmet. He walked around and helped Rory get the jacket on, before placing the helmet on her head.

“Aw, it’s like looking at a mini-me.” he chuckled.

“Fuck you, Hood,” she chuckled and scooted forwards so he could climb on behind her and he started up the bike.

“Hang on tight princess,” he called and took off for Wayne Manor. Rory was glad he gave her a jacket, it was warm and it covered the bruises and cuts on her upper body. Maybe he had given it to her for those specific reasons, she knew it must have been hard to see her injuries in real life but was grateful for the jacket.

As they pulled through the waterfall, Rory looked around with a smile as she saw the familiar cave walls that were filled with bats. Hushed voices were coming from the computer, and she could see multiple figures there.

Jason pulled to a stop and took his helmet off and set it to the side and helped Rory get hers off and lifted her off the bike, setting her down on her feet. Rory stood there silently as she looked at the others across the cave, more specifically looked at a certain black-haired boy whose eyes met hers instantly.

Quickly Tim got up and pushed past the others and ran towards her. “Rory!”

She let out a small laugh, her eyes welling up with tears. Tim really was okay, he wasn’t hurt and he was alive. Urging her feet to move, Rory ran towards him as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

She held her arms open and Tim ran into them and wrapped his arms around her picking her up. Setting her down, he brushed back her hair and placed kisses all over her face making her giggle and grab his collar, making his lips meet hers in a passionate kiss.

Tim kept his arms wrapped tightly around Rory’s waist as he kissed her, putting every ounce of emotion he had into it as she gripped the back of his neck. Rory was home, and she was home with Tim.

He held her tighter, making Rory wince slightly and hiss in pain. Quickly he let her go and cupped her cheeks, looking at her. “I was so worried about you,” he said as he wiped a stray tear from her face.

“I’m okay Tim, I’m right here and I’m okay,” she said softly, her throat hurting from keeping back her sobs. Her shoulders shook and her voice quivered, but she didn’t cry.

Tim’s eyes didn’t leave her as he took in every inch of her body noticing all the cuts, scars, burns, and various other marks. He could also see that she was trying to keep herself from crying, she was sniffling her nose as her eyes were red from fighting back the tears. Carefully he wrapped his arms around her again and hugged her close. “It’s okay Songbird, I’ve got you.”

Rory buried her face in his chest as she gripped his shirt, she knew that the second they both let go either Dick or Jason would take her away to a hospital and she didn’t want that. All she wanted was to get a good night’s rest with Tim at her side, and maybe some of Alfred’s cooking.

Tim ran his fingers through her hair the best he could without pulling it and looked over at Dick and Jason, giving them a silent thank you. Both of them nodded with a smile and walked over. “Alright, we need to get you cleaned up before we even think about doing anything else.”

Steph walked forward with the others, Bruce and Damian were still not back from patrol so neither of them knew Rory was back. “I can take her up and help her shower.” She pried Rory out of Tim’s arms making them laugh a little and led her up the stairs and to her room.

With the two of them gone, Jason and Dick looked at Tim and the others. “She needs to go to a hospital, we may be able to do a lot here but she’s going to need more care,” Dick said.

Tim let out a sigh, he knew she would need to go but he also knew the fight she would put up to stay at the manor and possibly injure herself more. He didn’t want to be without her again, and putting her in a hospital would do just that even if it was to help her heal.

“There’s one more thing you guys need to know. This is so that you aren’t caught off guard if she decides to say something.” Jason set his helmet on the desk and sat on it with his arms crossed.

“What do you mean? What happened?” Cassandra asked, standing on Tim’s right.

Dick and Jason shared a look. “She killed someone, one of Joker’s goons to be exact. I get the feeling this isn’t the first time it’s happened and I am almost certain it had something to do with Slade.” Dick said quietly.

The others were silent, they knew Rory had a troubled past and they were getting bits and pieces of it from her when she opened up, but this was different. Rory had the potential to be dangerous, deadly even, but just how dangerous was she? With recent events, would they have to watch her closely to make sure she didn’t cross any more lines?


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six

Stephanie led Rory up the stairs as slowly as she could, it didn’t help that Rory winced every few steps and had to stop because she was in so much pain. Steph had half a mind to go get one of the boys so they could carry her up, but that would entail leaving Rory alone and she wasn’t dumb enough to do that while she was in this condition.

Once they were passed the stairs, it got easier. Rory’s thigh had stopped bleeding for the most part, but it still hurt like hell as she took a step and it wasn’t getting any better. They were right outside her door when Rory stepped wrong and her leg gave out, sending her to the floor. Steph was quick to catch her, but not without making her cry out in pain.

“Rory, I think we need to take you to a hospital before we even think about cleaning you up,” Steph said with a worried look on her face. How the hell was Rory going to shower when she could barely move?

“At least let me wash my hair, please?” she pleaded, opening the door and pushing it open. Looking at her room, she could see that it was how she left it all those weeks ago except the tv was off and her sheets were messy.

Did Tim sleep in her bed?

Steph helped her into the room and sat her down on the bed slowly, and saw the look of confusion on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“My bed is a mess, who messed it up?”

Steph let out a light chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. “That was me, I was so worried one night that I just came in here and slept. It turned into a nightly thing, sometimes Cass joined but it was normally just me.”

Rory looked up at her friend and smiled softly. “Well, how about we have a sleepover and drag Cass and Babs in here tonight too?” she asked.

Stephanie gave her a big smile. “Okay! But what about Tim?”

Rory laughed, quickly wincing in pain, and held her stomach. “I think he can live one night, not in my bed.”

Steph giggled as she walked to the bathroom and turned on the faucet to get the water warm, coming back in a few minutes. Taking Rory by the arms, she helped her up and into the bathroom where she had towels and such laid out so they could wash her hair.

Rory winced as she got on her knees and leaned her head over the tub and Steph began to rinse the dirt, grime, and blood out of Rory’s dark hair, turning the water a nasty brown color as it ran through her hair.

It took three to four washes before Rory’s hair was clean, and it felt ten times lighter than before with all the dirt out of her hair now. Carefully she sat up and Steph patted it semi-dry before helping Rory to her feet.

Rory walked over to her bed carefully and sat down as Steph pulled out fresh clothes for her to wear. “Thanks, Steph.” she smiled and took them, standing carefully.

Stephanie was about to walk out of the room to give Rory some privacy when she heard her whimper in pain, just trying to get Jason’s jacket off of her. “Rory, let me help you.”

Rory quickly shook her head. “I-I’m okay Steph, just hurts to put my arms up, and down, and breathe…” Rory didn’t know what she looked like under the clothes, and she sure as hell didn’t want anyone else to see the marks on her skin. She already had her fair share of scars from her years of running around Star City, but they had almost tripled in quantity in the last few weeks. It was easy to say that the Joker had not been nice to her, even if he did have someone stop the bleeding just so she would stay alive.

Stephanie crossed her arms and glared at Rory. “Do I have to get Jason up here, or worse Tim?” she threatened. Rory quickly shook her head, wincing in more pain.

During her time at the manor, wherever you saw Rory there was almost always Jason or Tim with her. Through all the banter and fights, Rory and Jason had formed a solid friendship to the point it felt like he was her big brother. He was there for her when she needed him and she was there when he needed her. Tim and Rory were nearly inseparable, nine times out of ten Rory was with him and they were usually curled up on a couch or a chair watching something or just enjoying the presence of the other person.

They were the last people she wanted to see her injuries, so if she had to put up with Steph to keep them out of it, so be it. Rory let out a sigh and Steph carefully helped slide the jacket off her arms, exposing the bruises and cuts that littered her arms. The entire time, Steph kept a straight face if the bruises and cuts bothered her she didn’t show it.

Next to come off was the tank top, and this was the hardest part. Rory lifted her arms with a whimper and Steph slowly and carefully lifted it up and off her torso, letting out a shocked gasp when she saw her injuries.

Her chest and stomach were covered in dark bruises, cuts, and burns. Where the metal rod had penetrated her side, there was a large wound still that had looked to have had a botched repair job done multiple times with an acid burn over it. Quickly Steph walked to the bathroom and grabbed a washrag before coming back and started to wash the dried blood and dirt off of her body.

The process was slow and painful but through the whole ordeal, neither Stephanie nor Rory uttered a word. It took a while, but Stephanie had Rory mostly clean and dressed in fresh clothes ready to head back down to the cave. Rory slipped Jason’s jacket back on and wrapped it around herself, wanting that extra little bit of comfort.

When Rory was getting socks and slippers on, Steph had sent a message to Jason to come and carry her down the stairs saying that going up was hard enough and she didn’t want to risk hurting her more going down the stairs.

There was a knock at the door and Stephanie opened it seeing Jason there waiting for them. “Everything okay?”

He looked at Steph, and her face said it all. Rory’s injuries were bad, horrible even. Forcing a smile, Jason waltzed into her room and carefully picked up Rory who let out a huff of defeat. 

“Don’t get used to this princess,” she muttered. “The stairs are just an obstacle to face.”

“Yes, when you fall face first trying to go down them.”

Rory frowned and crossed her arms, but learning against Jason still. “I won’t fall.”

“Aurora, shut up and let me help you before I call Roy to come to kick your ass.”

At this Rory quit talking and pouted as Jason carried her. When they got to the stairs, Steph excused herself and walked off to her room quietly leaving Rory alone with Jason.

“It’s bad isn’t it?” he asked, as they descended the stairs. Rory didn’t make a noise, nor did she shake her head only confirming Jason’s suspicion.

“Bad enough, that Steph quit talking and cracking jokes Jay,” she muttered.

“Fuck, if I had only remembered about the tooth thing before now then it wouldn’t be as bad.” Rory looked up at him with a sad look.

“Jason, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault, any more than it is Dick’s and Barbara’s. I don’t blame any of you- shit ow.” Rory took a deep breath as she talked and it hurt. “I don’t blame anyone for this, I blame myself and the asshole that did this to me. I was the idiot that snuck out instead of doing what I was told.”

Jason huffed a laugh. “Sneaking out is like a right of passage, you are now technically an honorary Robin. How does it feel?”

“Do I get to wear the green spandex?”

“I think Tim would have a heart attack if you wore spandex in front of him.”

Rory laughed at his words. She laughed so hard that tears fell from her eyes from joy and the pain from laughing, making Jason laugh with her. “Besides, Dick and I wore the green spandex. Tim got the red suit and you’ve seen Damian’s. Let’s just say those two got the more flattering of the suits. Even Steph’s Robin suit was nice, it had a skirt and tights.”

“But when we first met initially you had a red suit. I mean, that was you all those years ago right?” she asked.

“Yeah, it was me but I only had that suit for about a year. It’s the one in the cave that’s in one of those glass cases,” he explained.

Rory hummed in amusement. “Any other suit secrets I should know?”

“No, I think that’s about it.” he chuckled.

Rory smiled a little as he carried her down to the cave, the rest of the walk was quiet between them but not in a bad way. They entered the cave and saw that Bruce and Damian were back, and both were glad to see her.

“Glad to have you back Rory,” Bruce said with a smile, walking over to them as Jason carefully set Rory down on the medical table. Tim walked over and took her hand the second Jason had set her down, holding it tightly.

“Good to be back Bruce,” she answered and looked at Tim with a soft expression. She could see that he was exhausted, he had dark circles and rings around his eyes from the lack of sleep. His body was sluggish and he had a lazy look on his face. With her free hand, she brushed his hair back from his eyes and placed a kiss on his forehead making him blush.

Rory let out a giggle, stopping quickly because it hurt to laugh. Tim noticed this and squeezed her hand “Do you feel any better?”

Rory nodded. “Yeah, it’s nice not being caked in dirt and blood you know?” she chuckled a little. “I just wish I had something to eat, what I wouldn’t give for some of Alfred’s cooking.”

“Good thing I had this prepared for you, Miss Aurora.” Alfred came out of the elevator with a tray in his hand. Pulling off the cover she saw that it was a cup of hot tea and a plate of small sandwiches. Rory’s eyes widened as her stomach made a loud gurgling sound at the sight of food.

Giving a sheepish grin, Rory took three of the sandwiches and ate them slowly. Her stomach wasn’t used to normal food so she had to take it slow to make sure she didn’t make herself throw up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jason try to reach for one only to get his hand smacked by Rory who wasn’t even looking at him

“What the hell! You were looking the other way!”

“Don’t touch my food and you won’t lose a hand,” she grumbled, her mouth full of food. Tim laughed from her side and carefully put an arm around her waist and leaned against her as she ate.

While she shoved her face full of sandwiches, Rory knew she had to tell Bruce what had happened but she was scared. What was he going to do to her, make her sit out longer than she needed to? Send her back to Star City? Change the Netflix password, even though she could hack her way back into it?

Dick noticed the troubled look on her face and leaned on the table next to her. “What’s on your mind little arrow?”

Rory raised a brow and looked at him. “Little arrow?”

Dick shrugged. “Can’t call you little bird, or little bat because you aren’t either. You’re an arrow, and the youngest so ergo little arrow.” he grinned.

Rory rolled her eyes as she finished the last sandwich. “Just thinking is all.”

“What about?” Tim asked, looking at her.

Rory looked at the floor, how could she tell him knowing that he would change his opinion of her? Not only did she kill one of Joker’s goons but it wasn’t the first time she killed someone either. How could you love someone who has killed others?

She didn’t know what to think, one second she knew it was self-defense but then the next it wasn’t. Being held hostage by a murderous clown who tried to get her to kill again made her rethink a lot of things. Was Rory really as good as she said she was? She wasn’t Batman, she wasn’t Red Hood who literally scared the shit out of criminals.

Oliver and Dinah were good people who fought crime so others didn’t get hurt and a lot of people respected them. Most of the time, they didn’t have to use fear. Rory respected the hell out of Oliver, Dinah, and Bruce, she believed in what they stood for and standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. But where did that line end, and the gray area begin?

It was why she changed her name to Grey Arrow, nothing was black and white anymore. After she killed those people that night, Rory became a different person filled with guilt and shame. it was months before she put the suit back on and fought crime, and in doing so became someone criminals in Star City feared.

Killing that man, it fell into the gray area. Killing was wrong, but if she didn’t do it then she would be the one dead in that warehouse and he would be bragging about how he took down the Grey Arrow.

“Rory, sweetheart, look at me.”

Rory zoned back in, and her eyes met the worried look of Tim’s as he cupped her face. Looking at those innocent bright blue eyes, Rory couldn’t hold it in anymore and started sobbing. Tim looked surprised to see her start crying, but he pulled her close and held her against his chest and he ran his fingers through her still-damp hair.

“I’m so sorry.” she sobbed, gripping his shirt.

“What are you apologizing for? You did nothing wrong, songbird.” He pulled back and brushed the hair out of her face.

“But I did, I’ve done bad things, Tim. Things that would make you think differently of me.” The tears ran down her face and dripped off her chin as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of Jason’s jacket that she still wore.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve killed people Tim! I’m a murderer!” she yelled, still sobbing. “I’m a fucking murderer, no better than those psychopaths out there!” she pointed at the exit to the cave, her voice ringing off the walls.

Tim stood there shocked at her tone, but not at her confession. Dick had told him that she had killed one of Joker’s thugs, and he could see how it was hurting her knowing that she did it. “Rory, what happened in that warehouse wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m not talking about the fucking warehouse Timothy!” Rory slammed her hand down on the metal table she was sat on, her hair falling into her face as she winced from slamming her hand. “That guy was just the most recent on the list of people I’ve killed, regardless if it was self-defense.”

“Rory, you need to calm down before you-” Dick said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Before I what Grayson!? Before I kill someone else, kill one of you!?” she snapped, whirling her head to look at him and slapping his hand off her with a dark look.

“Before you hurt yourself more.” he finished. “You still have a hole in your leg and not to mention everything else that’s injured.”

Rory was silent as she clenched her jaw so tightly she swore she felt her teeth crack. Her hands gripped the table so tight as she squeezed her eyes shut trying to tune out her own thoughts.

She was a murderer, those people that night were innocent and Rory killed them in her anger. She was so desperate to stop Slade that she didn’t notice what she had done until it was too late and they were on the ground dead with her pure white arrows sticking out of their chest, stained with their red blood.

The tears continued to fall from her eyes as she covered her ears trying to block out everything, including her memories and self monologue. Tim watched as his girlfriend fell apart in front of him, crying and begging for her thoughts to stop and it brought tears to his eyes. She had said that you can’t break something that was already broken, none of them knew what that meant until they watched her shatter.

“Aurora, look at me, please.” he took her face in his hands slowly moved her hands off her ears so she could listen to his voice. “You aren’t a murderer, I know you aren’t. A murderer wouldn’t have told Poison Ivy to kiss her to save me,” he said softly.

“A murderer wouldn’t have tried to go after me in a burning building.” Tim wiped the tears from her eyes again and watched as Rory’s eyes fluttered open slowly and looked at him.

“You care so much for those around you, there isn’t a single person that knows you and doesn’t love you. Rory, you are the most important person in my life and nothing will change how I feel about you. I love you, Aurora Sonnet and that won’t change.” Rory watched him as he spoke, her anger starting to quell away as she listened.

She sniffed and nodded slowly. “I love you too Timothy Drake, more than I could say,” she said softly, her voice cracking from her sobs.

Tim smiled softly and kissed her forehead. “Now, before we do anything you need to be bandaged up. Let’s get the jacket off you.”

Rory nodded, all of her energy spent from crying and fighting multiple times that day. She was so exhausted that she didn’t even notice that Bruce had left to go make a call. Damian had gone up to get food and Babs was with Cass who were both checking on Steph. That left Dick, Jason, Alfred, and Tim to tend to her injuries.

The second the jacket and her shirt came off, there was a gasp. Dick had forgotten about the rod that went through her, and the wound looked awful It had multiple bad stitching jobs done to it with acid burns on top of it, scarring the tissue around it on her back.

Rory held her shirt up to the front of her chest as Alfred worked on her back with the assistance of Jason and Dick with Tim held her hands and whispered comforting words to her, to keep her calm.

Tim should have expected a reaction like this from her, no one came back from a situation like that without something to show for it physically and mentally. As Alfred worked, he kept telling her how much he loved her and why with the occasional joke here and there to make her smile more.

He wiped the stray tear here and there and pecked her lips every so often. Rory leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes. “I’m so tired. I told Steph we could have a sleepover with Babs and Cass, but I think they fell asleep already.”

“What the hell gave you that idea?” Rory looked up as Tim turned to see the three girls in footie pajamas and carrying a pillow and blanket for them and a pair of pajamas, pillow, and blanket for Rory.

Rory wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and laughed, Alfred, telling her to stop moving. “What are you three doing?”

“Well, since you are stuck down here being doctored and Babs said that you were having a hard time I wanted to bring the sleepover down here!” Steph grinned. “I brought you one of my pajamas, because what kind of weirdo doesn’t own a pair of footie pajamas?” she laughed.

“Once I take care of Miss Aurora’s thigh, she can change into them,” Alfred said moving around to do Rory’s thigh.

“I think I have a better idea.” Rory smiled.

Two hours later, all of the batkids and Rory were in pajamas with pillows and blankets surrounding the living room floor and couches. Damian was one of the first asleep and he was piled on top of Dick with his feet hitting Jason. Dick had an arm around Damian and the other spread out. Jason, who was on one side of Rory stayed closer to her side not wanting to get kicked in his sleep while Tim was on her other side, his arms wrapped around her and holding Rory close. Barbara had the couch and Steph and Cass were under it curled up together around Dick’s, Damian’s, Jason’s, Rory’s, and Tim’s bodies.

Bruce looked at them from the doorway and smiled softly before taking a picture of it. “Rory is a great addition to the family, she brings out the best in all of them. You were right, Alfred. I think it was fate that brought her here.”

Alfred smiled at Bruce as he looked at the sleeping figures on the floor. “I am always right Master Bruce.” he smiled.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rory wasn’t taking well to being on bed rest, Dick’s initial assumption was correct when he had that she had two broken ribs and several cracked ones. That was just her chest, her collarbone was fractured, so was her radius and her shins. Her spleen was inflamed and had to be watched constantly to make sure it didn’t rupture.

Of course, the press had gotten suspicious with the lack of Aurora Queen sightings, ever since she was seen with Tim at the ballet and the Wayne New Year’s Eve gala people were keeping tabs on her. Tim had once told her that being a Wayne was basically the same as royalty, and it wasn’t more true than this.

Both Bruce and Oliver had to issue an official statement saying that Rory had gotten in a car accident and was staying with Tim in Wayne Manor until she recovered. It was no secret that the Wayne family was widely admired and that admiration had trickled down to her as well. She had received multiple gifts and cards with flowers, someone had leaked that her favorite movie was _My Fair Lady_ and her favorite flowers were daisies.

She lost count of how many copies of the movie she received and her room was covered in vases filled with daisies to the point she had to keep a window open or she would start sneezing like crazy. Tim had taken a leave of absence from WE to take care of her, making Bruce have to go in every day and drag along either Dick or Jason because just one man couldn’t handle the workload Timothy Drake did on a daily basis.

Rory was sat in her bed, staring out her window as Tim worked on his laptop beside her with his hand resting on her thigh rubbing circles with his thumb. It was a beautiful spring day, and she was stuck inside. Looking to her left, she saw that Tim was so engrossed in his work he didn’t notice just how high his hand was on her leg and she let out a giggle.

“Timmy, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Hmm?”

“Your hand is awfully high, is there something you want?” she teased. Tim blushed at her words and moved his hand lower, but not moving it away completely.

“I didn’t say that you had to move it.” Slowly, she moved closer pressing her side against his.

“I know what you are doing, and the answer is no. You are still recovering and I have work that needs to be done,” he said, glancing at her with a small smile.

Rory rolled her eyes. “Tim, I am mostly healed I can handle it.” she buried her face in his neck and placed soft kisses on his shoulder, running her hand over his arms. She could feel Tim leaning into her touch, trying not to give in and do his work.

“Mostly healed, is not completely healed Songbird. I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, placing a hand on the one she was running down his arm.

“Maybe not, but I know you won’t hurt me.” She trailed her kisses up from his shoulder and to the collar of his shirt and pushed it aside, biting on the skin softly. Her actions made Tim let out a small groan, she could tell that he was losing focus from work.

Rory grinned against his shoulder and moved her hand down to the hem of his shirt, tracing her fingers over his toned stomach just above his pants line. Tim let out an airy breath as she sucked the skin between her teeth that was sure to leave a mark. “Rory, you are making it really hard to concentrate. I need to get this done…” he muttered.

“You can get it done when I am done with you.” Removing her hand from his shirt, Rory moved his laptop and papers to the side as she crawled onto his lap and kissed him fully. Tim’s hands went to her waist, holding her in place as they kissed. He could feel her hand slide up his body as she slowly pushed his shirt up with it.

Rory slid his shirt up and off of him, breaking the kiss and moving towards his neck and kissed his pulse. Tim’s grip on her tightened, bunching up the shirt she wore in his hands as he moaned softly.

He felt her hands slide lower and work on the button to his pants that were starting to get too tight for his liking. Quickly, he lifted his hips and helped Rory pull his pants and boxers down making Rory giggle softly.

“Someone is a little eager.”

“Hard not to be when my girlfriend is trying to seduce me.” he groaned as he felt Rory touch him softly.

“Sweetheart, this isn’t seducing. If I was trying to seduce you, you would be a blissful, moaning mess.” she grinned, pushing him back on the bed and ran her hands over his body making Tim shiver at her touch.

“Fuck Rory…” he muttered. “Isn’t that what you do to me anyway?”

Rory looked down at Tim and leaned down and pecked his lips. “Maybe, but I don’t hear you complaining.” she grinned kissing him fully. The sounds of soft moans sounded against the walls as Rory and Tim indulged in the pleasure they gave each other.

Two hours later, Rory and Tim were laid out on the bed basking in the sun rays against their bare skin. He ran his fingers through her hair, admiring the dark-haired beauty with him. Her eyes were closed as she soaked up the sunlight, sweat glistening against her skin with a few marks across her neck.

Tim was covered in marks, even more so than she was. Letting Rory take control resulted in her marking Tim as hers, she took extra care to make sure that they weren’t visible from behind a suit collar but poked out from a regular t-shirt. His body had red marks across his skin from Rory’s nails and he could feel how swollen his lips were.

“Hey, Briar Rose?”

Rory tilted her head towards him. “Hmm?”

“Did you lock the door at all?” Tim had a feeling he knew the answer but was curious to know. His brothers were infamous for barging in unannounced, they were brothers after all. Rory had the same experience with Roy more times than she could count, and it almost always at a bad time.

Rory stayed silent, giving Tim his answer. Rory rolled onto her back and looked out the window. “Why don’t we go for a walk in the garden? It’s beautiful out and if we stay quiet much longer someone is going to barge in.”

Tim pulled her closer to himself and nuzzled her neck. “I have something beautiful right here.”

Rory blushed and wiggled out of his hold with a wince and got up, pulling her clothes back on. Tim watched her, his eyes lingering on the acid burn on her back, and the bandages wrapped around her torso. She looked so beautiful to him, even when she was injured and the scars showed just how tough she was.

Rory’s eyes glanced at him as he watched her. Once she was dressed, she picked up Tim’s clothes and threw them at him, while he was on the bed. “I’ll be in the garden, don’t take forever Dragon Boy,” she called and shut the door behind her as she left.

Walking down the hall, Rory wrapped a scarf around her neck to hide the bites and bruises Tim had left. Neither of them would live it down if they saw the marks Tim left on her, let alone know how often they slept together. She had made it to the stairs and took a deep breath as she slowly went down them. Her ribs were still on the mend and it made movement harder, but it was tolerable.

Stopping at the front door, she slid her shoes on and walked out the back door to the gardens. Once she was out, Rory closed her eyes as she enjoyed the warmth from the sun taking in the feeling.

The birds were singing and cicadas could be heard all around her. Brushing her hair back, Rory walked further into the garden and towards the hedge maze. It wasn’t an actual maze, just enough that it could prolong a walk. Rory kicked some rocks as she walked, lost in thought.

If the next week went well, she would be safe to send out in the field and it scared her a little. Rory didn’t feel ready, let alone worthy of going out and protecting those of Gotham every night. Slade Wilson was still out there and he was probably waiting for the perfect time to strike, the Joker had done what he asked. He had gotten her to kill, unhinging her enough that she pulled the trigger without a second thought until after it happened.

What would happen if she went out again? Would she slip up and kill again? Was she even capable of saving others anymore?

Rory didn’t realize how much she had walked until she came upon the middle of the maze where a gazebo was set up with rose vines going up the grated sides. The roses were a beautiful shade of red and looked well cared for. What intrigued Rory the most was the person sitting in the gazebo already, with a book propped open on his lap as he took a bite of an apple.

Quietly Rory walked over and sat with Jason and leaned back against the seat, wincing as she did so. Jason had noticed her long before she sat, and could tell that something was wrong with her. Rory wasn’t normally this quiet and she was alone, so that proved that something was wrong.

The two of them sat in silence, Rory lost in her thoughts and Jason reading the book she had gotten him for Christmas. It was about five minutes before he spoke up. Setting the book down on the table, he turned to look at her. “What’s on your mind princess?”

Rory gave him a shrug, wincing and instantly regretting the action.

“Where’s Timbo?”

“He was getting dre- uh taking care of something before he could join me.” she quickly finished, trying to cover her slip up.

Jason laughed at her awful attempt at a cover-up. “You two might be able to hide it under Bruce’s nose, or he may just be purposely oblivious to it, but you can’t fool me. Who the hell wears a scarf in spring?”

Rory scoffed. “A lot of people wear scarves in the springtime, it’s fashionable.” she crossed her arms roughly, making herself wince again.

Jason raised a brow. “Yeah, and how often are they to cover up hickeys?”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks, I don’t want my brother’s sloppy seconds.” he grinned.

Rory’s jaw dropped and grabbed the apple out of his hand and threw it at his head, the apple bouncing off and rolling under a hedge as she quickly gripped her side trying to hide her whimper of pain.

“You’re violent when embarrassed, calm down princess.” he chuckled rubbing the spot on his head the apple bounced off of.

“You’re insufferable, it’s like living with Roy and Jesse again,” she muttered.

Jason laughed and looked at Rory his laughter dying down as he saw the look on her face. “Rory, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing Jay, I just… I just have a lot of thinking to do,” she said softly, looking out at the hedges across the court.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Rory stayed silent, Jason was about to bug her again when Tim walked in and saw them sitting there. He walked over and looked at Jason, who just gave him a shrug. They both could see that Rory was acting weird, but how could they fix it? She wasn’t opening up to them about it, and Rory didn’t open up to them she wouldn’t open up to anyone in the manor.

Tim sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, placing his hand on her hip. Rory’s expression didn’t change as she carefully leaned into him. She was still holding her side, it being in pain from launching the apple at Jason’s head, which was starting to bruise.

“What happened? You weren’t holding your side when you left earlier.” Tim asked, looking at Rory’s hand that was gripping her side tightly.

“I threw an apple as Jason’s head,” she muttered.

Tim raised a brow and tried to hide his laugh. “You threw an apple at his head?” he looked at Jason who was sitting there laughing with his book in hand. “Why did she throw an apple at your head?”

“You wanna tell him princess, or should I? I mean it’s embarrassing for both of you either way.” he chuckled, watching the two of them.

“Jason what did you do?”

“I just complimented her on the scarf, it’s not like she’s trying to hide anything with it right?” Jason grinned, leaning back.

Tim’s ears went pink as he hit him on the shoulder. “Don’t you have your own love life to mess with?” he said.

“Not today no, besides it’s more fun to pick on my little brother and his girlfriend.” Jason grinned poking Rory in the cheek who only gave him a glare in turn. Jason laughed at her glare and poked her again.

“Jason, you poke me again you’re going to regret it.” she snapped.

“What are you going to do to me? You can’t even laugh without hurting yourself.” Jason poked her cheek again as Rory’s eyes narrowed.

“You really want to try that, or did you forget I can still kick ass tied to a chair? A few cracked ribs won’t hinder me.” she threatened. Tim bit his lip to hide his laughter as Jason sent him a glare.

“Tim, your girlfriend is mean to me.”

“You’re just as mean to her.”

“I am not.” Jason reached over and poked her cheek again. “Rory absolutely lo-”

Rory grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm, throwing Jason face-first onto the table with a grunt. “I said do not poke me again.”

Jason tried to wiggle out of her hold but she only twisted his arm tighter, making him use his other hand to tap out. “I fold I fold!” he cried. Rory let go and sat back down as Jason rubbed his face.

“You’re so violent, remind me to never actually piss you off. I might actually die for real this time.”

Rory gave him a look. “Do you ever stop talking?”

Jason shook his head with a grin. “That’s my special talent, I never shut up.”

Rory rolled her eyes and leaned against Tim as he held her close. “On a lighter note, are you excited to get back out on the field again?”

She stayed silent again, Rory honestly wasn’t sure how she felt about going back out.

Jason and Tim both noticed her hesitation. “What’s wrong, Songbird?” Tim asked, looking at her.

Rory just gave him a shrug. “I guess I’m just nervous about going out again, what if I hurt someone else or worse?” she asked. “It took months of convincing from Roy, Oliver, and Dinah for me to finally join them on patrol.”

Jason sat there and listened quietly. “So, what if instead, you went on a mission with me and Roy?”

Tim and Rory both looked at Jason like he was crazy. “Go on a mission with you and the Outlaws?” she asked, raising a brow.

Jason nodded. “You know the team already, and maybe getting you out of Gotham for a bit will help. Give you another perspective, plus Roy will be with us. You don’t even have to do anything, just hang around. I’m sure the others would love to see you again.”

Rory thought about it. Maybe Jason was right, she needed to get out of Gotham City for a while and away from everything even if it was for a few days. Looking up she saw that Tim was looking at her, the only thing was that she was leaving Tim in Gotham. There was no way Bruce would sign off on him going with him.

“I think you might be right. Maybe a trip is what I need to clear my head,” she said after a few minutes.

“Are you sure, Rory?” Tim asked. Of course, he didn’t want her to leave, but he wanted her to what was best for her. If that meant going on a trip with the Outlaws then he wouldn’t fight her on leaving.

Rory sat up and nodded. “Yeah, and it’d be good to see Roy again.” He was there for her after what had happened with Slade and she really needed to talk to him. Roy’s opinion was important to her, and she wanted to know what he thought of everything.

Jason leaned back with a nod. “Alright, I’ll tell Bruce and he can pass the message to Oliver. We leave in a week from today.”

Rory smiled softly. “Alright, where are we going?” she asked.

“We’re going to Paris, hope you have a passport princess.”


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight

The flight to Paris was awful. Sure Rory and Jason used one of Bruce’s private jets, but it didn’t relieve the feeling in her stomach. She curled up in her seat and closed her eyes as she listened to music from her headphones. The flight had about four hours left and she was getting antsy because of it.

“What is with you and flying?” he asked.

Rory didn’t look at him. “I don’t like flying.”

Jason raised a brow. “You don’t like flying?” She shook her head.

“Why don’t you like flying, are you afraid of it or something?”

Rory opened an eye to look at him. “It’s not that I’m afraid of it, I just don’t like having my feet not on solid ground is all.”

“Are you ever going to tell me why?” he pressed.

Rory let out a sigh and opened her other eye and titled her head as she looked at him. “You ever tell anyone this story, I will hurt you. It was years ago, I was Arrowette still and Count Vertigo was attacking hospitals across the city.” she started.

“Clark was in town visiting Oli on league business when we got the call. Queen Manor was a ways away and Dinah was out of town on a mission and Roy had left. Oli and I didn’t have a fast way to get there, so Clark got the wonderful idea in his head to pick me up and fly me all the way down across the city.” Rory glanced out the window of the plane and shuddered as she remembered it.

“Since then, I have not liked flying.”

Jason laughed as he listened to the story. “So, you’re saying that Superman ruined flying for you?” he asked.

Rory gave him a look and shrunk into her seat. “Well, when you put it that way it just sounds dumb.”

Jason got up and sat next to her and nudged her shoulder. “Lighten up, this thing has almost everything you could need. Drinks, Food, a place to nap.” he chuckled.

Rory rolled her eyes. “What I need is to be on the ground, not in the air.”

Jason sighed. “What if we watched a movie or something, it could get your mind off of it.”

Rory gave him a nod and watched as Jason scrolled through the movies, deciding on My Fair Lady and surprising Rory. She looked at him and he just shrugged. Jason wanted her to relax some, so maybe putting on her favorite movie would help, and it did.

Exactly two hours and fifty-two minutes later, the movie had ended and they only had to last another hour on the flight. Lucky for Rory, she had passed out about halfway through the movie. It meant that she was relaxed enough that she could get a little bit of sleep before they had to meet up with the rest of the Outlaws at their temporary safe-house.

When the plane began its descent, it was dark out and Paris was lit up. Jason carefully shook Rory awake and pointed out the window. Looking out, she could see the Eifel Tower amongst the city light. A big smile spread across her face, Rory had always wanted to come to Paris and she was finally here.

The only thing that could have made it better is if she had Tim with her. It was no secret that Paris was known as the city of love and it was something that she would love to experience with him, but because he was taking over WE from Bruce soon Tim was extra busy. If she really enjoyed Paris that much Rory would just have to kidnap Tim and take him on a vacation.

As the plane landed, Rory gripped the armrests of her seat so tight her hand hurt and she basically threw herself off the plane once it was safe on the ground. Of course, both Rory and Jason were famous heirs to the Wayne and Queen fortunes so they had to try and stay inconspicuous and not get noticed.

Adjusting the sunglasses and her hat, even though it was night time, Rory walked with her two suitcases towards the car that was waiting for them. As she got closer, Rory recognized a certain redhead there waiting for them.

“Rory!”

“Kori!” With a laugh, Rory picked up her pace and walked over to embrace her friend in a tight hug.

“I really didn’t believe Jay when he said that you were joining us here in Paris, but apparently he wasn’t lying.” she chuckled.

Rory rolled her eyes and pulled the sunglasses off, “I needed to get out of Gotham for a while. Does Roy or the others know I’m here?”

“No, Kori is the only one I told. I figured you would want to surprise Roy and Jesse, and you haven’t met Artemis and Bizzaro yet so I told Kori and she came to give us a ride.” Jason said, running a hand through his hair.

Kori chuckled. “Those two are going to be surprised, now get in the car so we can get some sleep before we start working tomorrow.” Rory gave her another hug before throwing her luggage in the trunk and climbed into the back seat. Jason and Kori climbed in right behind her, Kori kicking Jason out to make him sit in the passenger seat.

Jason grumbled as he got in, something about getting kicked to the side because Rory is cooler than him.

Once everyone was in the car, Kori turned to look at her friend with a smile. “So, what’s this I hear about you and Tim?” Kori grinned seeing the expression on Rory’s face.

“It depends on what it is you’re hearing Kor, people talk. Some of them are over six foot tall, has a white streak of hair, and just so happens to be named Jason.” Rory answered crossing her arms and sending a glare to the back of his head, his shoulders shaking from silent laughter.

Kori laughed and leaned back against her seat, “Jay hasn’t actually said that much, to be honest. It’s mainly Dick that talks about the two of you the most, I think he brags about the two of you to anyone who will listen long enough.”

Rory huffed and shrunk back into her seat with her arms crossed. If Dick was telling everyone he knew, then the entire superhero community knew that Tim and Rory were a thing or more so Red Robin and Grey Arrow were a thing.

Batman and his team liked to keep their identities secret from a lot of people, and Rory was the same. Most of the Justice League only knew that she was Oliver’s sidekick for years until she became her own hero. But none of them knew that it was Aurora Queen under the mask, and a lot of the teen titans and other smaller teams only knew Tim as Robin or Red Robin now, only a select few knew of his actual identity.

Kori watched her friend with an amused expression, she wasn’t used to seeing her embarrassed. When they were a couple, even though it was short-lived, Rory was seldom embarrassed. But then again, Kori didn’t know as much about her as Tim does even now she didn't know Rory like Tim does. According to Dick and Jay, Rory and Tim knew each other as kids and that was a connection you couldn’t compete with.

With a laugh Kori poked her side, making Rory squirm. “You are way too easy to embarrass these days. But I see that you are still ticklish.”

At her words, Jason turned around to look at them. “Rory really is ticklish? I thought Tim just told you a terrible joke.”

Kori grinned and looked as Rory slowly curled into the corner of the backseat. “Koriand'r, I swear if you fucking poke me again-”

“You’ll what? Shoot me? Last I checked you don’t have any arrows on you.”

“Hold on, how the hell do you know she is ticklish Kori?” Jason questioned.

Both Rory and Kori exchanged a look that made the two of them look flustered and quickly looked the other way. “You do remember we dated for a short period of time right?”

Jason’s face went from confused to realization. He had totally forgotten that they had dated, and not just that either. He had blocked out the whole scenario of finding this out after the attack on the ballet, probably because he didn’t want to think about it too much.

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave all the tickling to Tim now.” Kori winked, Rory, punching her shoulder in retaliation.

The rest of the drive was quiet after they had reestablished that Kori had slept with Jason and Rory at different times and no one wanted to go further into detail about that.

When they pulled up, Rory looked out the window and saw that it was just a regular apartment building. Of course, knowing Jason and his dramatic ass, the inside was probably more than just the average apartment. The three of them got out and Kori helped the two of them carry their luggage.

Somehow Jason had more bags than Rory did, but no one was ready for that conversation.

They barely fit into the elevator so they had to send Jason up with the bags as Rory and Kori took the other elevator. The ride up was quiet, but it was a comfortable quiet. Rory was exhausted from the flight and wanted nothing more than to flop onto a bed and go to sleep.

When they got up there, they saw that Jason was dragging out their luggage. Rory rolled her eyes and grabbed her two bags before Kori led her to the door of their safehouse. She twisted the handle and pushed the door open seeing that all the lights were off.

She reached over and flipped them back on, and saw Roy and Jesse making out on the couch.

Rory’s eyes widened at the sight and dropped her suitcase in shock. “Roy what the hell!”

The two of them jumped as Jesse fell off the couch and looked over with a shocked look on his face. “Rory? What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came with Jason to help on the mission and surprise you, but it seems you had a surprise of your own.”

Roy sat up on the couch his face flushed red almost as deep as his hair as he helped Jesse back onto it. Honestly, she should have seen this coming. With how close Roy and Jesse had gotten, Rory was surprised she didn’t notice it earlier.

“I’m glad to see you up and about though twinkle toes, how’s the ribs?” Roy asked, flattening his hair and walking over towards the girl he considered a sister. Rory gave him a shrug. “You know, on the mend. The big man said nothing extreme, and you never want to disobey Alfred.”

Roy laughed and ruffled her hair, Rory batting his hand away. “You have got to stop doing that,” she muttered as she straightened out her hair and then proceeded to do the same to Roy.

“You say that and then you do it to me? How is that fair?” Roy laughed and wrapped his arm around her and held Rory down as he rubbed his knuckled into her hair roughly.

“Roy Harper, let me go!” she cried.

Kori, Jason, and Jesse stood to the side as they watched the adoptive siblings interact. They could see Rory was getting irritated quickly and so they took a few steps back, not wanting to get caught up in it when she finally exploded.

Roy laughed as he rubbed harder, then Rory grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back before grabbing a pressure point in his arm that sent him to the floor as he cried out in pain. “I told you to let me go Harper.” she grinned.

Roy laid out on the floor holding his wrist, “Geez, Gotham made you more violent. What the hell happened to you?”

Rory’s smile left her face and she went quiet. No one had told Roy what had happened, she wanted to be the one to tell him but now that she was with him it seemed that much harder. Rory opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she took a deep breath and tried to keep the tears at bay. Would Roy be disappointed in her? Probably, he was like her big brother and wanted what was best for her. If Rory told him that she had killed someone again, she’d be admitting that she wasn’t perfect; that she was flawed.

“Twinkle toes?” Roy got up rubbing his wrist and make her look at him. He could see tears she was fighting off and sighed softly. He could see that something was wrong, and it was probably the other reason she had come. Rory needed him.

“Hey, Jess, why don’t you order pizza while Jay and I get her set up in her room. Artemis and Bizarro shouldn’t be far behind, so be sure to order a lot.” Roy grabbed one of Rory’s suitcases while Jason grabbed the other and the two of them led Rory down the hall.

She had been right in her assumption that it was more than the average apartment, the tech was updated with the latest from WE and Palmer Tech. Almost everything was automatic, and it was kind of nice. Rory’s room was at the end, across from Roy’s and next to Jason’s so at least she was with people she trusted the most.

Opening her door, it was a simple bedroom with a full-sized bed in the middle. Roy and Jason threw her luggage on the bed and she opened it looking for a set of comfy clothes, still not saying a word.

Roy and Jason watched as she disappeared into the bathroom to change. “What the hell happened to her, Jay?”

Jason let out a sigh and ruffled his hair. “It’s not good Roy, she went through hell and she’s scared.”

“Why did no one tell me?” Roy asked, looking at his best friend.

“She wanted to be the one to tell you.”

Roy didn’t get the chance to respond before Rory came out in sweats and a shirt before closing up her suitcases and putting them on the floor, sitting on her bed. Roy walked over and sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

Rory closed her eyes, as tears rolled down her cheeks and curled into Roy more. Jason ruffled her hair and let himself out figuring they needed a moment alone.

Once Jason was gone, Rory let out all the tears she had been holding in. Roy pulled her into his lap and ran a hand through her hair as she held onto him tightly. “Roy, I messed up.” she sobbed.

“Twinkle Toes, what happened?” he asked softly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Rory sniffed, wiping them herself before she told him everything that had happened. What the Joker did to her, how Slade had set the whole thing up, what they wanted her to do, and how she fell for it and killed someone in her escape.

Roy sat there and listened quietly. He was one of the few people that knew what had happened with Slade and he understood why she was hurting. Rory had repeated past mistakes but under different circumstances, and the guilt was eating her alive. Not only was she full of guilt, but she was scared.

“Rory, it’s like you said. If you didn’t shoot him, I would be sitting at your grave instead of here with you in Paris. You made the choice, it wasn’t an easy choice but you still made it and you can’t let it affect your future. Not again.” he said, taking a bite of pizza that Jesse had brought them.

Rory stared down at hers. Her appetite was gone and didn’t feel like eating anything not after talking about everything. “I just don’t feel worthy of protecting others, what if I fail to protect someone or worse get one of the others killed like Dick or Damian or-or Tim…”

“This is how you felt the last time, and you still went back out and kicked ass. Granted you darkened your color and black is taken by Merlyn so you can’t do that again.” he chuckled.

Rory laughed a little. “Malcolm Merlyn is Star City’s drama queen.”

Roy laughed at her joke. “You’re telling me, kiddo. Are you feeling any better?”

Rory gave him a nod and took a bite of her pizza. Roy was right, she couldn’t let it stop her not this time. She was older and stronger than before, and everyone makes mistakes. Rory just needed to learn from them, and sometimes you just couldn’t prevent them from happening and it’s not on her.

“Good, now finish up. We have matters to discuss this new boyfriend of yours.”

Rory groaned and rolled her eyes. “Don’t scare the shit out of Tim please? Jason does it enough, it’s like he took over the big brother role since you aren’t around that much.”

“Well good, I don’t want this boy breaking your heart.” Roy took another bite.

“Technically, I’m the heartbreaker in the relationship? I ended it with Jesse, Kori, and Helena. Shouldn’t you be worried about me breaking his heart?” she asked, taking another bite.

Roy shook his head. “I saw the way you acted around him the last time I was in town, you would move heaven and earth for this boy. If he is stupid enough to break your heart, then I might have to hurt him.”

Rory didn’t get to respond before her phone started to ring. Looking at it, her phone lit up with a picture of her and Tim she had taken at the New Year’s Gala. Trying to hide her embarrassment, Rory kicked Roy out of her room who was making suggestive comments and gestures with his hands before answering her phone.

“Hello, you have reached the phone of one Aurora Queen. Can I take a message?” she giggled.

_“Very cute Songbird, can you tell my girlfriend that I miss her like crazy and want her to come back?”_

Rory chuckled. “I think I can relay the message. But seriously Dragon Boy, what time is it there? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” There was silence on the phone for a few seconds. “Forget I asked that. I just remembered who it was I’m talking to.”

Tim’s laughter sounded through the phone as she walked over towards her window that had a great view of Paris and the Eifel Towe. “Tim, after all this I want to come to Paris with you.”

_“You do know how far that is from Gotham right?”_

“Yes Timothy, I do. But if the fabulous bruce Wayne can take leave and go to some random city, you can too. Maybe it’d give him another lesson on just how overworked you are.” she said.

_“Paris does sound nice, maybe this summer? We can take long walks, go sightseeing and enjoy some actual alone time without nosey brothers barging in almost every time I try to make a move on my girl.”_

Rory laughed at his statement. “You’re telling me. Besides you’d never guess what we walked in on when we arrived.” she sat on her bed and continued to talk to Tim the rest of the night until she fell asleep with her phone in her hand, dreaming of them both kissing under the beautiful Paris night sky.


	30. Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Excuse me, I’m supposed to do what?!” Rory looked at Roy with an incredulous look. Did he really just ask her to do that?

“We need you to go in undercover, and seduce your way into this guy’s, Alexis, inner circle,” he explained again.

Rory dropped her pizza in shock, they really wanted her flirt her way in. “Why the hell are you asking me?”

“Well, the rest of us are busy or don’t have your complexion,” Jason commented, as he pulled the string of cheese into his mouth.

“My complexion? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Rory waved her hands, the piece of pizza still in her hands. “What do I have that you all don’t?”

“Well first off, Kori is orange and Artemis is too tall. It’s said he likes smaller women and by default that goes to you.” Roy explained as he leaned against Jesse who had his arm around him.

Rory turned her gaze back on Jason. “You knew, this is why you asked me to come and I’m willing to bet the Queen fortune that Tim doesn’t know.” she glared at Jason who finished one piece only to grab two more and eat them.

“If I had told you before now, you would have mentioned it to him and you would not have come,” he admitted. Rory scoffed and threw her slice of pizza at him. Oddly enough, he caught it and waved it at her. “Always so violent, but you fit the perfect description for this guy’s taste.”

Rory frowned and grabbed a new piece. “Let me guess, small and rich? Need I remind you that I have not left this apartment because of the fact that I don’t want Aurora Queen to be seen in Paris, France the city of love, with another guy that is not her boyfriend?”

“That’s the best part, he digs blondes,” Jesse said with a wink.

Rory looked between the group of people with her and let out a groan. “I swear, one of you will be the death of me,” she muttered.

“For the record, dying is not that great. Ten out of ten, do not recommend.” Jason said, leaning back against the couch.

Looking to her left, Rory saw that there was an empty can of soda. “Fuck you Todd.” she snapped and threw it at his head, again. Jason didn’t see this one coming and it bounced off his forehead with a ding as the can clattered to the floor.

He turned to look at her as she flipped him off. “Are you ever going to stop throwing things at my head? First the apple, then the pizza, and now this?”

“I don’t know princess, are you ever going to stop being an idiot?” she responded with a grin.

“Rory, you threw an apple at his head?” Artemis asked, watching the interaction between the two with a slight grin.

“Yeah she did, you want to know why?” Jason grinned.

Rory got up and dove at Jason. “One more word out of you and I will sew your mouth shut!” Jason moved out of the way quickly, Rory following after him as she jumped on his back knocking him to the floor.

Jason managed to catch her, but not before he fell on his chest with Rory on his back and pinning him to the ground. “Either I’m getting better, or you are getting worse princess.” she grinned and got off his back. Jason rolled over and glared.

“Again, you are one of the most violent people I know. How the hell did replacement fall for you again?” he asked, rubbing his neck.

“I’ve been asking myself that since we started dating.” Rory chuckled and helped him up to his feet. Jason rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that Rory didn’t catch. She quickly turned to look at him with a glare.

“What did you say?” she demanded.

Jason shook his head. “Nothing.”

Rory rolled her eyes and picked her phone up and threw her plate away. “I’m going to bed, I’ll see you guys in the morning.” she waved them goodnight and walked down to her room, and shut the door. Tim was due to call any minute anyway so she wanted to be alone so she could actually talk to him.

Like she had expected, her phone rang, and saw that he was wanting to video chat. Hitting the answer button, she set her phone aside and looked for a pair of pajamas. “Hey Dragon Boy, how’s the most depressing city in the world?”

_Tim rolled his eyes as he watched her search. “Even more lonely without you here with me to brighten up my day Songbird.”_

Rory looked over and saw that his hair was a mess, and falling into his eyes. “How is everyone?” she asked, taking off her shirt and throwing on a nightgown that went past her thighs.

_Tim watched her change through the phone and tried not to blush. “Oh you know, the usual. Damian is still a terror, Steph and Cass are doing their own thing while Babs and Dick have been hanging out a lot again. I’ve been stuck here waiting for my girlfriend to come back from France so I can love on her.”_

Rory noticed that Tim was not in his room, in fact, it looked like he was in her room. “Tim, are you in my room?” she asked raising a brow and grabbing her phone then sitting on the bed.

_Tim gave her a shrug. “Maybe, but anyway. How’s the mission going, have you gotten any information yet?” The look on Rory’s face told him that she did get information, and she didn’t like it at all._

_“Uh oh, what are they making you do?”_

Rory let out a huff. “I was told to seduce my way into the inner circle. Kori and Artemis wouldn’t be able to do it, so Jason, Roy, and Jesse are making me do it. I get to wear a wig and everything. It sounds so exciting.” it was obvious in her tone that she was not excited at all.

_“They want you to seduce your way in? Can you even do that?”_

Rory gave him a look. “I just bat my eyes and you are a puddle at my feet, Timmy.”

_Tim blushed more and ruffled his hair. “You’re right. Of course, you can do it, but do you feel comfortable doing it?” he asked._

“See, it’s not my comfort I’m worried about. What about you? What do you think about this, because the second you say you are uncomfortable then I will back out and they will have to find someone else to do it.” she explained, laying on her bed.

_“It’s not you that I don’t trust Briar Rose, it’s everyone else. How am I supposed to keep creepy guys away if I’m not there?” he asked._

“You aren’t the only superhero in this relationship, darling. I know how to keep creeps at bay, but I need to know now. Are you okay with me doing this?” she asked again.

_Tim pondered the thought. He could trust Rory, and he knew that she would not let something like that happen. “I trust you Songbird, besides I’m the one you get to come home to not any of them.”_

Rory smiled softly. “Alright.” she yawned. “I should probably get to sleep, don’t work yourself too hard baby, or I will send Stephanie after you okay?” Rory rubbed her eyes. She was about ready to fall asleep.

_Tim watched with a chuckle as she tried to keep herself awake. “Alright Briar Rose, get some sleep okay? I love you and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”_

Rory let out a tired ‘I love you’ before she fell asleep with her phone in her hand.

The next day was awful. Kori and Artemis had gone out, leaving Rory and the boys at the apartment, to go find clothes and things for her to wear to the club later that night. She was pacing back and forth while Roy and Jesse were curled up on the couch watching a movie, Jason was reading and Bizzaro was eating stuff out of the fridge.

“Twinkle Toes, you pace anymore and there will be a trench dug into the floor. I doubt what they buy you will look that bad.” Roy said, running a hand through Jesse’s hair.

“That’s easy for you to say, you aren’t the one who knows what these two are thinking. My big worry is just how much it’s going to show. I don’t want to give someone a heart attack.” she said.

“Oh, you mean like Tim?” Jesse teased.

Rory stopped in place and glared at every one of them. “If any of you so much as take a picture and send it to him, I will chop all of your thumbs off and turn them into a necklace and make the culprit wear it as a necklace of shame.” she snapped and kept pacing.

It was another hour before Kori and Artemis returned and held up a dress bag that was on the shorter side of things. “Here, go try it on. I know it will fit because I know your dress size and everything.” Kori handed it to her and practically pushed her into the bedroom forcing her to change.

Rory had a few hours to get dressed and ready for the club, so she might as well start now. She hopped in the shower and cleaned herself up before getting out and drying off. Still wrapped in the towel she saw that she had unread messages all from Tim.

_Dragon Boy: Hope the mission goes well, call me after?_

_Dragon Boy: Also, I love you and I know you can do anything you set your mind to_

Reading these, Rory let a smile grow on her face. Setting her phone down, she opened the dress bag and her jaw dropped. Someone had told Kori to get a white dress, but that wasn’t the most shocking part. The neckline was a v-cut that dipped so low, it went down to her stomach and almost showed her belly button The sleeves were gone and the dress looked like it would barely cover her ass.

Rory grit her teeth. She was doing this for the better of the mission, and once this was all over she could go back to Gotham and hide in her room for a week from shame.

As she put on the dress, Rory noticed that it covered her ass more than she thought it would, but even then it was still barely covered. Looking in the mirror, Rory had to admit that she looked hot. The dress was perfect for her figure and it accented what she had.

Walking to the bathroom, Rory pulled her hair up and pinned it back so the wig she was wearing would fit on her head well. Carefully she slid it into place and brushed it out enough that it looked natural. Using bobby pins, she pinned it into place.

Almost another half an hour passed and her make-up was done. Rory had to apply a small amount of concealer to her stomach and chest to hide the scars and burn marks that lingered there. She was fastening her heels when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in, but any stupid comments and I will throw you out the window.”

The door opened and in walked Roy. He was fixing the shirt he was wearing for the mission when he looked up and his jaw dropped. He hadn’t seen Rory wear white in a long time, and it still worked well with her. He was frozen in the doorway as he watched her put on jewelry that was bugged with cameras and mics.

“Roy, honey, you stand there much longer and you will catch flies,” she said, placing blue contacts in and blinking slowly.

Jason had seen Roy standing in the doorway and wanted to know what the hell was taking him so long. Rory wasn’t going into the club alone, in fact, he and Roy were going with her as backup and anything else she needed. Jason had to disguise the white streak in his hair and Roy blended in anywhere he went. Walking over he peeked in the door and saw what Roy was staring at.

“Holy fuck, Rory. If you weren’t dating my brother-”

“Finish that sentence and it will be the last one you ever say, Todd. I know I look hot, so let’s leave it at that.” she stood straight and grabbed her cover before pushing past the door awestruck boys in her doorway.

The two of them shook out of their shock and followed her. “You look great Rory!” Kori squealed, Artemis rolling her eyes with a smile beside her. “When they said to get you white, I didn’t understand until I saw you. You need to wear it more often.”

“That’s what I keep saying,” Jesse said, grabbing bags of snacks. He, Kori, and Artemis were to be sat in a van nearby and listen to their feed. Bizzaro was on standby in case something really bad went down.

“So you told her to get white? Jesse, you know how I feel about wearing it,” she said crossing her arms.

“When you went to that ballet, you looked like you enjoyed it.” he countered and crossed his arms to mock her.

“That was different, that was a date, and I was with my boyfriend. Besides, I didn’t get to pick that one either. If it was my choice I would have worn black that night.” she snapped.

Rory felt hands on her shoulder and she looked to see both Jason and Roy there at her side. “It doesn’t matter, the point is that you look great and no one will recognize you. We need to get going, the club will open soon and the quicker we start the better.” Roy said and went out the door with everyone right behind him.

An hour later and Rory was nursing a headache from the loud music that made the walls shake. Leaned up against the bar, she could see one of Alexis’ men eyeing her from across the room. She was supposed to seduce her way in, and seduce she will.

Next to her stood Jason with his back to the crowd he had both of his guns on him and Rory had an idea. “Hey Jay, can I borrow one of your guns?” she asked.

He looked down at her with a raised brow. “You want one of my guns?” he asked.

She nodded. “You still have the rubber bullets right?” Rory watched as Jason discreetly pulled one out of his jacket and handed it to her. With the cover of people passing by, Rory tucked it into the holster on her thigh, happy that the dress was long enough to cover it from plain sight.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked, watching as she walked away towards the guard that was eyeing her. Rory put on a fake smile and batted her eyes.

“Sir, I think I’m lost. Could you show me where the restroom is?” she asked, her fake English accent disguising her voice as she looked up at him through her batted lashes

The man looked her over and grinned giving her a nod. “Why don’t I personally show you miss?” he asked and placed a hand on Rory’s wait that was a little too low for her liking but she let it slide.

Jason and Roy watched her from across the room with raised eyebrows. “Damn, is that how she got your brother to date her?” Roy chuckled.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Dude, shut up.” he didn’t take his gaze away from Rory as the man led her towards the back.

Rory knew that where he was leading her was not the bathroom, instead, it was one of the back rooms that was used for more personal encounters very similar to the one he thought he was gonna get from Rory.

He opened the door and led her in, and took her waist shutting it from behind. “A pretty girl like you must get lost often,” he whispered.

Rory let out a fake giggle, letting his hands roam a little as he brushed her hair back and placed a kiss on her bare shoulder. Turning in his hold, Rory slid her hands down his chest in a seductive manner before pushing him against the door. “Good thing I have you to show me around.” she grinned, licking her upper lip.

“You’re a feisty one, I like that.” he grinned, his body shivering at the sight of Rory licking her lip.

“Yeah? Well, I don’t.” She grabbed the gun from the holster and held it against his stomach. The gun may be full of rubber bullets, but he didn’t know that. His body stiffened under hers as she pressed it deeper into his body.

“What the fuck?”

“I’ll be asking the questions. Who is Alexis and where can I find him?” she asked sweetly, her fake accent thick with mock lust. The man looked down at her with a confused expression, she was incredibly sexy and terrifying at the same time.

“Who-”

Rory cocked the gun, brushing her blonde hair out of her face. “I said that I’m asking the questions, now answer mine or you’ll become riddled with holes and ruin my dress in the process.” she snapped. He held his hands up in defeat.

“Alexis is my boss, she always sits in the back corner booth with her arm candy and watches the crowd. it’s no doubt that she had noticed you, you are beautiful even if you are not what you seem.” he rambled, his French accent thick from the fear in his voice

Rory gave him a sickly sweet smile, her blue eyes shining with mischief. “Thanks for the tip sugar,” she said, her fake accent filled with sweetness, and hit him on the head with the butt of the gun, knocking him out as he fell to the floor unconscious.

She pressed her coms. “Boys, we have a predicament.”

 _“Yeah, it’s terrifying how well you can make men fall at your feet with just a bat of your eyes. Where did you learn to do that?”_ Jason said.

“You clearly have never heard of Aurora Queen in her teen years.” she chuckled. “But that’s not what I need to tell you, I got info about Alexis. First off, she isn’t a guy she is a woman, and she’s here.”


	31. Chapter Thirty

“What do you mean Alexis is a woman?” Jason said he was still at the bar keeping an eye out after Rory disappeared behind the door.

 _“I mean, my friend here who is unconscious on the floor told me that Alexis is his boss and she sits in the back both with arm candy on her. Look around and see what if you can find her.”_ Rory said.

Looking around, Jason and Roy scanned the booths near the back and saw that there was a corner booth filled with women that were hanging all over the brunette in the middle and had guards at both sides. “I think I found her. The good news is you definitely look sexier than those around her and she might just ditch them for you.” he chuckled.

 _“My friend did say that I caught her eye, so let’s test my luck.”_ Rory exited the back room, making sure the gun was hidden by her dress. Her fingers played with the necklace that hung down past her cleavage as she looked around keeping that innocent, English girl act up.

Her eyes met Jason’s who nodded his head towards her right. Pulling a tube of deep red lipstick, she reapplied it and looked in that direction. Sure enough, there was a booth and in the middle was their target.

Alexis Devereaux, the drug queen of Paris. She was beautiful, and she looked dangerous. If Rory was going to get herself noticed, she was going to have to change tactics. The innocent act wouldn’t get past Alexis.

“I don’t think the whole innocent thing is going to work with her. I would just blend in with the other girls, and I need to stand out,” she said.

 _“Well, does it help that you just came out of a backroom alone looking like just gave that guy the best head he had?”_ Jason commented, trying to hide his amusement. If Tim was here, he would be losing his shit. Good thing that Kori, Artemis, and Jesse were archiving all of their footage right?

“That was my intention, Jay yes. Again, teenaged Aurora Queen was a bit of a party girl. Let’s just say that this isn’t the first time I came out of a backroom alone looking like that.” she chuckled, flipping her fake hair over her shoulder.

 _“I can confirm that teenage Rory was a nightmare. I was the one who normally dragged her out of parties. Be glad you know her now Jay, she’s tolerable these days.”_ Roy chuckled.

Rory rolled her eyes. “If you two are done, I’m going to show you, boys, how to properly seduce a woman. Might want to take some notes.”

She turned on her heel, pursed her lips, and started to strut towards the back booth where Alexis was sat making sure to sway her hips as she walked, anyone she passed doing a double-take. Rory knew how to do many things and one of them was how to radiate confidence. Alexis was surrounded by timid and innocent women, so what she needed was someone who knew how good she looked.

Rory watched as Alexis turned her head and saw that she walking towards her booth, not stopping the conversation. Alexis, leaned back in her booth and eyed Rory up and down as she came to a stop in front of her booth.

“What’s your name _amore?_ ” she asked, twirling her finger in the locks of the blonde next to her.

“What’s your name?” Rory asked, her innocent tone gone replaced by a deeper sultry tone with her fake accent still intact.

Alexis grinned, “A Brit, and a blonde. Where have you been all my life sweetheart?” She snapped her fingers making the two on her left get up as she patted the spot on the booth next to her, as Rory slowly took a seat and slid in to sit by her side, the two blondes sitting back down on the booth.

“Did my boy Lou tell you to come by?” she asked, wrapping an arm around Rory’s waist and pulling her flush against her side as she rested a hand on her lower back.

“Was that his name? I didn’t seem to catch it.” Rory replied as she fiddled with the necklace.

As she wanted, all of Alexis’s attention was on her and not the other girls. Rory watched as she reached out a finger and traced it down the bare skin on her chest before stopping at the dip of the necklace, her eyes trained on Rory’s. “This is a beautiful piece, I do hope no boyfriend or girlfriend gave it to you?” she asked, lifting it a little.

Rory bit her lip, glancing down at her hand. “No, it was not a gift. More of a how shall I say it, _emprunté sans autorisation?”_

Alexis’ eyes had a glimmer of approval at her statement and placed a hand on Rory’s thigh and pulled it up onto her lap as she pulled her closer, so Rory was firmly pressed into her side with one leg draped across her lap and the other tucked underneath. Rory leaned against her, arching into her touch as Alexis slid her hand further down her back and rested it on the swell of her ass.

Irritation flashed across Rory’s mind, but she had to push it away. If this went well, Rory would be back in Gotham pressed against Tim like this and not some drug queen. Biting her lip, she tilted her head to look around Rory caught the gaze of both Jason and Roy.

 _“If it gets too much, we can bail you out princess,”_ Jay said in her com.

Rory shook her head in laughter softly, hoping he caught on. _“If you need us, remember the word is Shakespeare.”_

Rory turned to look back at Alexis who was keeping her hands on her ass and her thigh that was slowly rising higher up. “So, how did a beautiful woman like you get to be so powerful in this day and age?” she asked, trailing a finger down Alexis’ arm.

She let out a chuckle, dropping her gaze to Rory’s exposed chest. “You do know how to flatter a girl don’t you, _amore?_ ” Her eyes raked up her body as she brushed back strands of hair from her shoulder and pressed light kissed to the base of her neck.

Rory’s skin prickled at the feeling, and slowly leaned away. “Sorry love, you need to buy me a few drinks before we get that far.” she chuckled. Alexis’s eyes glimmered with excitement, taking this as a challenge before ordering a round of drinks.

Her hand trailed up Rory’s thigh and grazed the gun that was in the holster, her eyes snapping up to meet hers as she felt the gun under her fingers. “What is this _amore?_ ”

Rory let out a fake giggle. “Do you really think I would come to a club unprotected? I grew up in the rather shady bits of London, love. A girl has got to know how to protect herself.”

Alexis didn’t seem to take this as a threat, a girl who fit her taste and knew how to protect herself? Seemed almost too good to be true. “Is that what happened to Lou?” she questioned.

Rory shook her head, “No, I just hit him hard on the head.”

Alexis let out a laugh as the drinks she ordered arrived. “You are full of surprises _amore._ Do tell me more.” She took a glass and handed it to Rory and grabbed one for herself. Rory eyed the drink and slowly pressed it to her lips but not letting it get past. It smelled like your average shot of whiskey with a hint of expensiveness to it. It must cost the average customer a fortune to order, but when you are one a drug queen’s arm it seems you get anything for free.

Alexis noticed her hesitation. “Don’t worry _amore,_ it’s not drugged. I may be rich and powerful like you had said, but I don’t take advantage of women.”

Rory let out a light chuckle and took a sip. “It seems that you have experience with this kind of situation then?”

Alexis gave her a nod. “You don’t get to be this powerful without a few problems along the way. When my brother died, everything my father had left him went to me. When you are in my business, men don’t take well to women taking their stuff and doing their job better than them. We may live in the twenty-first century, but men still live in medieval times.”

Rory raised a brow, as she took another sip. “And what business is that?” she asked. Two sips and Alexis was singing like a bird, such a shame that she was a drug queen, or they could have been actual friends.

“You are a perceptive one, I’ll indulge you. Let’s just say that it is not exactly legal what I do, I doubt you don’t already know what it is I mean you are in my club. Besides, men are pigs, it’s why I prefer to surround myself with beautiful women such as yourself _amore._ ” she explained. Rory faked a smile and leaned into her, encouraging Alexis to talk more.

“But I don’t think this is a conversation for public ears, maybe we should take this upstairs and I can really unwind.” she glanced at Rory, her intentions were masked but they were there none the less.

 _“Rory, do not go upstairs. That is a really bad idea.”_ Roy said, panic laced in his voice.

 _“Listen to him, princess. It would be harder for us to bail you out if you put yourself in that position.”_ Jason snapped quietly.

Rory ignored them both and gave Alexis a nod. She knew what she was doing, and they were just going to have to trust her. Alexis took her hand and pulled Rory up so she was standing and began to lead her across the dance floor and towards the stairs.

She could hear Jason ad Roy’s warnings in her com, but Rory ignored them as she followed Alexis up the stairs. They had barely made it halfway up before Alexis took her waist and pinned Rory to the wall with a grin.

Rory looked at her as she bit her lip, Alexis’ hands slid down her waist and rested them on her ass, and pulled Rory closer. “This is more like it, fewer interruptions.”

Rory’s hands were placed on her shoulders as she leaned into her figure. There was a line and Rory was not willing to cross it, and with what Alexis was doing she was getting pretty damn close.

“Suddenly you have gone quiet, _amore?_ ” Alexis asked, tilting her head leaning into the crook of Rory’s neck, and pressing soft kisses up her throat.

She gripped the fabric of her top and looked around, as Alexis held her close. “What was that Shakespeare quote? ‘I am not bound to please thee with my answer’?”

Alexis chuckled, nipping at Rory’s earlobe. “You like literature?”

Rory shook her head. “I’m not a big fan, but my friend is.” Glancing to the side Rory saw Jason and Roy storming up the stairs, to come and help her.

Alexis looked over and looked back at Rory with a growl. “You set me up, you little bitch.” The adoring look she had was gone and was replaced with one of anger.

She grabbed Rory by the throat and held her against the wall, Rory gasped and tried to pry her hand off as Alexis grabbed for the gun that was in Rory’s holster and aimed it at her forehead.

Rory froze and looked down the barrel of the gun. “This is getting too familiar for my liking, this is the third or fourth time I’ve been held at gunpoint.”

“You should know better than to mess with people more powerful than you sweetheart,” she growled.

Rory growled and elbowed her in the arm, making Alexis’s arm bend and kicked her back making her way over to where Jason and Roy were standing. Alexis watched her and aimed the gun once more, unaware that it was loaded with rubber bullets.

“You’re going to regret playing me _amore._ I’ll make sure to kill your friends once I’m done making you pay for this.” she snapped.

Jason pulled out his second gun. “Put it away Alexis, the police are on their way and we have enough information to put you away even if it is for a little while.”

Alexis looked between them all with a glare. “I should have known it was too good to be true, a perfect girl like you? Ha! As if.” She aimed the gun at Rory’s head. “Maybe I should just kill you.”

“Go ahead, you wouldn’t be the first to try.”

Alexis shot the gun as Rory ducked, pushing the other two out of the way. There were noises behind them and several of Alexis’ bodyguards came up the stairs, blocking off the obvious exit.

“Get them, and kill the girl,” Alexis commanded and took off. Rory looked around and saw her run down the hall and took off her heels, following after her leaving Jason and Roy to take care of the bodyguards.

Before she could disappear, Rory caught up to her and dove onto her back knocking Alexis to the floor. The two of them struggled as Rory tried to get the gun out of her hands, and not get herself killed again.

Rory managed to get the gun out of her hands and aimed it at her making Alexis laugh. “Are you really going to kill me?” she asked, leaning her head back on the floor.

“No, I’m not going to kill you. Rubber bullets love, non-lethal.” Rory said, her accent still intact. “But I will do this.” Raising the gun, she went to hit Alexis on the head. But Alexis was one step ahead and grabbed her hand, pushing her off, and threw her against the window.

Rory hit it with a grunt and glared as the window shattered slightly. She did not plan on falling out of another window, not again. “Hey, uh guys, this would be a perfect time for some backup!” she cried.

“Back up is not going to help you, _amore._ Now, say goodbye and maybe I’ll see you in the afterlife.”

“Not going to happen.” Alexis turned around to see Jason standing behind her, bruised up and his lip busted. He gave her a slight grin before Jason punched her, knocking her out.

Rory stood there in shock and looked at him. “Thanks for that, I was hoping to avoid another trip out a window.”

Jason gave her a nod, grabbing his gun from the floor. “Sure thing princess, let’s get you out of here. I doubt you made many friends tonight.” He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Looking down the hall, they saw Roy waiting there for them while looking out a window.

“Any time would be nice guys, we need to get out,” he called. Quickly Jason and Rory ran over and looked out to see Kori and Artemis below waiting for them.

“I am not jumping out of a window this high while wearing this dress Roy! Are you nuts?!” she cried.

“Well, we can’t go out the main exit. Someone did her job a little too well and now the entire club is looking for you. Now pick Twinkle Toes, down there or the window?” Roy said while looking at her as he held the window open.

Rory looked between the stairs that had more guards coming up and the window with their friends below. With a groan, she wrapped Jason’s jacket around her tighter and jumped out the window.

She squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could as she fell into someone’s arms. Peeking one eye open, Rory saw that it was Artemis who had caught her. “Thanks for not letting me become a human pancake.”

Artemis chuckled and set her down. “Sure, now let’s get you out of here.” They looked up as Jason and Roy followed her out, the two of them landing safely on the ground.

“For the record, I am done with windows. I am getting rid of the one at home and replacing it with a brick wall. No jumping and no getting thrown out of them.” she said, shuffling her feet against the cold concrete.

Jason rolled his eyes and looked at her. “Just get in the van.”

Rory flipped him off with a glare. “I’ll do what I want thank you, and that just so happens to be getting in the van. It’s cold and I want my sweats back.”

She turned and got into the van where Jesse was and sat down, placing her clutch on her lap.

She was so exhausted, she leaned against Jesse’s shoulder and closed her eyes as they drove to the apartment. It wasn’t long before they got out and Rory was begging for someone to carry her.

Roy being the sucker he is, picked her up and carried her to her room, and set her down. “Get some rest Twinkle Toes, you did good tonight.”

Rory smiled at him and saw that Tim was calling her once again. She picked up the phone and answered it as Roy left the room. “Hey handsome, how’s your day?” she asked.

_“Why did you deny the video chat? I want to see your beautiful face, Songbird.” he teased._

Rory chuckled. “I’m about to get in a bleach shower I feel so gross, so I figured that I could call you back after that.”

_“So I don’t get to see what you looked like?”_

“I would prefer that you didn’t, it’s safe to say that I do not like this dress,” she answered.

_“It can’t be that bad can it?”_

Rory sighed. “Tim, I don’t even look like myself. I’m blonde with blue eyes and feel gross. Can I please call you back after I shower?” she pleaded.

_“Alright, call me back after your shower Songbird.” he chuckled. “I love you.”_

Rory smiled. “I love you too, I’ll call you back in a couple of minutes,” she said and hung up the phone before getting in a shower and tried to wash off the feeling of Alexis’ hands on her body.

She really didn’t want to tell Tim what had happened, but Rory knew that he would ask Jason and Roy about it and they would give him full details of the night, just to mess with him. It took almost half an hour for Rory to feel clean again before she stepped out and got changed into her sweats she was missing, discarding the dress to the floor.

Keeping her promise she dialed Tim up and told him an abridged version of her night and how she seduced the drug queen of Paris.


	32. Chapter Thirty-One

_“In breaking news, we have just discovered that Alexis Devereaux, the drug queen of Paris has been arrested thanks to a vigilante group known as the Outlaws. With substantial evidence, the authorities were able to build up a case and she will await trial.”_

Tim glanced up from his laptop towards the TV, he had tapped into the French channels so he could see if Rory and the Outlaws made it into the news. On the TV, a reporter stood in front of a cub and showed photos of Alexis Devereaux from earlier that night.

Several of them were of her sitting in the booth, but it was the fourth or fifth photo that really had caught his attention. In that picture was another girl, and she was pressed against Alexis. She may have been blonde, but Tim would recognize her anywhere.

That girl with Alexis was Rory undercover, and seeing that picture made his stomach twist. He trusted Rory and knew that whatever was going on, she was doing it to get the information they needed. Rory had told him the day before that she got close and personal with Alexis, but she didn’t say it was that close. The feeling Tim had in his stomach was most likely the reason why she didn’t tell him, he did not like seeing Alexis’ hands all over his girlfriend.

The next photo made his jaw drop, it was a photo of Rory and Alexis and they were no longer in the booth. Alexis had her pressed up against a wall and her hands were places that only his belonged, dangerously close to kissing her. Quickly he turned off the TV and ran his hands through his hair, Tim couldn’t wait for Rory to get back.

She was due to arrive within the next few hours, depending on when her plane landed. Tim knew that she hated flying, so it was probably going to be sooner than later. He was currently working on the Penguin case, but his thoughts were distracted by the pictures he had seen of Rory and Alexis.

There was a slamming of a door and his head perked up. Quickly he shut the laptop and jumped out of his bed, and ran out of his room heading for the front door. His heart was beating so hard, it was almost as if it was going to jump out of his chest.

Hearing some chatter, he picked up speed and stopped at the top of the stairs where he saw Jason, Rory, along with Roy and Jesse standing in the foyer talking to Dick and Stephanie. A huge smile spread across his face as he ran down the stairs.

“Rory!”

Everyone looked up and saw him running, Rory’s face grew into a smile of its own. She couldn’t get a word out before he tackled her into a hug and held her tightly against his chest. Rory let out a giggle and patted him the best she could while her arms were trapped.

Tim let her go before he cupped her face and kissed her deeply, taking Rory by surprise as she let out a small noise as she gripped the front of his shirt kissing him back. He slid her arms down and wrapped them around her waist pulling her closer and she slid her hands up to wrap them around his neck.

“Damn, four days and he acts like it’s been three months. It’s not like I was gone too you know?” Jason muttered, crossing his arms.

Tim pulled away from the kiss and it left Rory in a daze as her eyes slowly fluttered open. “Hello to you too, Dragon Boy.” she smiled softly.

“I missed you,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers with a smile.

Rory laughed. “Oh, I couldn’t tell.”

Tim chuckled and let her go, settling for taking her hand and holding it tightly. Rory rolled her eyes at him and stayed close.

“Babybird here would not shut up about wanting you to come back, Rory. It was kind of sad.” Dick said, leaning against the wall with a laugh as Tim turned a little pink.

“Where’s Rory? I wish Rory would come back! I miss her!” Stephanie mocked with a laugh. Rory looked at her blushing boyfriend with a giggle.

“Hold on! Rory is not all that innocent!” Roy said, pulling out of Jesse’s arms. “She was just as bad if not worse, the second he called she would blush and take off and sit in her room and talk to him for hours.”

Jason let out a laugh, “It’s true!”

Rory glared at him. “You guys are terrible. Come on, you can help me unpack Tim.” she tugged on his hand and grabbed her suitcase as he grabbed the other and the two of them walked up the stairs to Rory’s room, ignoring the knowing looks the others gave them as they walked away.

Tim swung their hands as they walked, draping the suitcase he was carrying over his shoulder as he brought her hand up to place a kiss on the back of it, listening to her giggles.

Once they were in the safety of Rory’s room with the door shut, Tim placed her suitcase on the ground and took the one she was holding setting it next to it. Rory gave him a confused look before Tim took her waist and roughly pulled her against him.

Rory smiled at him and bit her lip. “So, how much did you miss me Timmy?” she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I missed you a lot Briar Rose,” he said, his voice dropping to a tone she hadn’t heard before. Rory looked at him, she had never seen Tim like this before and she couldn’t figure out why.

Tim quickly picked her up and threw her on the bed and crawled on top of her and kissed Rory once more, gripping her hands tightly in his own as she let out a soft moan of surprise.

Rory arched her back into him as he kissed her with their tongues fighting for dominance, and pressed her hips against his resulting in a groan from Tim’s lips. “Fuck, I missed you so much,” he mumbled.

“It was only four days, baby,” she replied.

“They were the longest four days of my life, and I didn’t like the way her hands were on you.” he groaned.

Rory pulled back from the kiss and looked at him. “How do you know where her hands were, Timothy?” she asked.

“I saw the news and there were photos and I didn’t like them.” he pouted, sitting up slightly.

Rory raised a brow and giggled. “Tim, are you jealous?”

Tim’s jaw dropped and he scoffed. “I am not jealous.”

Rory grinned, she now knew the reason behind his actions since she got back. Tim was jealous of Alexis, and she thought it was the cutest thing. Reaching up, Rory cupped his cheek before pushing him up and sat on his lap. “Tim, it’s okay to be jealous you know. But I have no feelings for her what so ever, I love you and only you, and it’s going to stay that way.”

She took his hands and placed them on her ass as she leaned down to kiss him, Tim pulling her closer against him once more. “Only you can touch me like this,” she muttered against his lips.

Shivers went down Tim’s spine as Rory kissed him, she was right about him being jealous but he was not going to admit it. His hands grabbed the hem of her shirt and slowly slid it up her torso, exposing her stomach.

Carefully, he laid her back down on the bed and pressed kisses to her exposed skin slowly as he felt Rory’s hands run through his hair. As Tim lifted her shirt higher, his kisses followed as he felt her squirm under his touch. Rory removed her hands from his hair and puller her shirt off completely as Tim kissed further up her chest.

Rory let out soft moans, feeling his lips against her skin set her body aflame. She could feel the desire building inside her as she whispered Tim’s name softly, making him grin against her skin.

Tim sat up and quickly pulled his shirt off before he went back to kissing her chest and collar. Rory grabbed his chin and pulled him up to kiss her again, whimpering when she felt him pull on her lip between his teeth.

Tim chuckled at her reaction and did it again, making her whine softly. “Fuck, d-do that again.” She stuttered, flustered at his touch.

“Do what again, Songbird?” Tim drug his lips down her throat, biting softly at her pulse as Rory let out a gasp tipping her head back.

“Th-That…” she muttered, her hands gripping the back of his head as she felt the vibrations of Tim’s laughter on her skin.

Rory let out a small cry as she felt Tim bite harshly on the spot under her jaw, making her head spin. She could feel a mark forming as he paid attention to the spot, but only soft moans left her lips encouraging Tim further.

“You’re totally not jealous.”

Tim grinned against her skin, “No, not at all Songbird.”

Their clothes were quickly discarded as Tim left kisses across her body, dragging his fingers along each of her scars wanting to feel her under his touch. Gripping her hair in his hand, Tim let out a moan as he felt her drag her nails across his back.

It wasn’t long before Tim had Rory begging under him, wanting him to touch her and the sight of her like that only made Tim want her more. Their bodies moved in sync as Tim held her close, wanting her to feel his love, Rory tugging at his hair making him moan her name.

Feeling the pressure build up inside her, Rory cried out his name digging her nails into his back as Tim moved quicker. “Fuck Tim…” Their moans grew louder as they reached their high and panted heavily as they came down from it, exhausted and covered in sweat.

Leaning his head on her shoulder, Tim let out a series of swears before pressing a kiss to her chapped lips. “You okay?”

Rory nodded slowly and ran her fingers through his hair softly as she looked into his eyes. She loved Tim more than anything and enjoyed these moments with him more than anything, and not just the sex but the intimate moments they shared from stolen kisses to something as simple as a cuddle.

Carefully he got up and grabbed a rag to clean them up before lying down next to her again and wrapping her into his arms, pulling her back against his chest. Rory let out a smile and curled back into him.

She giggled softly as Tim drug his fingers across her bare stomach and placed soft kisses on her shoulder. “Who knew that four days away would make you this cuddly?”

“My girlfriend was in another country, being felt up by another woman. Not to mention that dress was short.” he chuckled.

“I hate to break it to you, but I did not keep that dress. I hated wearing it and probably should not be seen wearing it again.” Rory rolled to look at him, her eyes looking into his. Tim’s eyes were a shiny blue, and it almost matched the afternoon sky.

“I like jealous you, it’s very cute, but I have a feeling someone heard us.”

Tim rolled his eyes and curled deeper into the blankets and dragged Rory closer. “We don’t need to show our faces again any time soon, I think we could even convince Alfred to bring us dinner if we really tried.”

Rory wiggled out of his hold and grabbed a pair of underwear and Tim’s shirt before throwing them on and climbed back into bed, curling into Tim’s side. “Want to watch a movie?”

“Do I get a choice?” Tim asked, looking at her.

“Nope, now turn on my movie Tim and watch it with me.” she chuckled and curled up as he turned it on, the movie already in the DVD player. Once the movie was on, Tim had gotten up and pulled on his underwear and the sweats he was wearing before and laid next to her as she watched the movie.

Rory wasn’t watching the movie much, instead, she stared at Tim as the two of them talked about everything under the sun. She had told him what it was like to live with Jason and the Outlaws and how different it was from staying at the manor.

Because there was no Alfred or Bruce to scare the shit out of them, everyone was a little more vulgar and acted more like children. She even told him about the night she threw pizza at Jason’s head, which made him laugh.

Her finger traced patterns on his chest as she thought, maybe hanging out with the Outlaws wasn’t such a bad thing. For the first time in a long time, Rory felt as if she finally belonged somewhere and it felt good.

Back in Star City, it felt like home similar to how Gotham felt to her but she wasn’t a stay in one place kind of person. Rory was unpredictable and stubborn, those were many of the reasons Tim loved her so much. She always brought something else to the table, something that none of them had thought of trying before and she was unique in how she acted and treated the others.

Rory hated asking for help, she didn’t want to be seen as weak. When the Justice League had asked her to join a few years back, she wasn’t sure if she ready for it. But it was her own uncertainty that made her weak, and that was something that she was going to have to deal with. The life of a crimefighter was not an easy one, but it was something she wouldn’t give up for the world.

Tim watched as she was lost in thought. Carefully he brushed her hair back and placed a kiss on her forehead, making her smile softly. “Hey, what are you thinking about?”

Rory looked up at him. “Not much, just about various things. Did you know that I was asked if I wanted to join the Justice League?”

Tim raised a brow at her words. “When was this? Back when you were White Arrow?”

Rory nodded. “Yeah, I had made a massive bust with Oli and Dinah. Obviously, those two never shut up about how talented I was and how grown up I had become. Apparently, a couple of members had been watching me for years, Oli and Bruce had mentioned that I had potential but they needed to see proof of it. Taking out a massive drug ring along with a team of assassins is enough proof that I can do some good.”

Tim nodded as he listened, it was rare that she opened up about her past when she was the White Arrow. It was the one part of her history that Rory wanted to keep locked away, but he never fully understood why. He knew that it had something to do with Slade Wilson and people died that night, but he loved and respected her enough to not push her about it.

“I was eighteen, almost nineteen when I got to official invite. But two months later, I left White Arrow behind and never joined,” she said softly, playing with Tim’s fingers.

He took her hands in his and kissed them softly. “You know, I think the league would still take you if you asked.” He quickly held his hand up to stop Rory from interrupting. “Yes, the invite was for the White Arrow, but it was for Aurora Queen as well. I think they would still take her, even if her suit is a different color now. You still fight the same fight, even if your methods are a little unorthodox and slightly more violent.”

“Slightly more violent? I use Jason’s head for target practice, and I have only missed once and that was with a piece of pizza. I don’t think they would take me, because I’m not the same person anymore. Besides, I don’t deserve to be in the league. Not when I am still trying to figure myself out.” Rory sighed softly remembering how excited she was to join, ready to work with the big leaguers and maybe finally meet some of the members she had looked up to for so long.

Her only interaction with most of them was when they came to see Oli for league business or when she met up with their sidekicks, under the disguise of Arrowette of course.

Wanting to change the subject, she brought up another topic. “Did you know that I met Dick and Jason before coming here?”

“How? I thought the first time you met them was here?”

Rory shook her head. “Oli was here in Gotham on a mission and I wanted to tag along. This was when Jason was Robin and Dick was still new to being Nightwing and I was a year into being Arrowette. I had no idea it was them until I actually met all of you and piecing together which one of you was which.” she laughed. “I swear Bruce just picks up dark-haired blue-eyed kids off the streets and calls them his.”

Tim snorted. “Well, technically he did not take in Steph nor Barbara. They just live here because it’s easier than popping in and out every night for a briefing. Dick bounces between here and Blüdhaven and Jason just bounces. Good luck finding him when he does.”

Rory laughed quietly and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, Tim taking hold of her waist to keep her close to him. If it were up to them, they could stay in bed all day and just enjoy and relax each other’s company. But when you live the life of a vigilante, relaxation was not part of the job description.

A knock on the door broke them apart as they glanced over to look at the shut door.

“Hey you two, wrap it up. Bruce wants everyone in the cave to discuss our patrol routes for the night. Also, maybe keep it down next time.” Dick’s voice sounded from the other side, followed by receding footsteps.

Rory and Tim looked at each other and busted into fits of laughter, curling into the other. “I think that answers your question from earlier.”

She rolled her eyes at him and went to get up, only to be dragged back into bed by Tim and held close to his chest. “Tim, we need to get up.” She giggled.

“Nope, I want to cuddle my girlfriend still and not face the rest of my family yet.” He mumbled against the crook of her neck. “I should probably apologize though.”

Rory turned in his hold and looked at him. “What for?”

Tim brushed his thumb over the large love bite he left under her jaw. “For this, good luck covering it up Songbird.”

Rory pulled out of his hold and got up to look in the mirror to see the mark herself. Her jaw dropped and she turned to look at him. “Fuck you, Timothy Drake.”

Tim laughed as he sat up. “Pretty sure you just did Aurora Queen.” He watched as she walked over and grabbed a pillow before shoving it into his face.

“I hate you.”

“No, you love me.”

Rory rolled her eyes and glanced at the mark on her neck one more. “Remind me to never make you jealous again.”


	33. Chapter Thirty-Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this tackles another serious topic, that is not to be taken lightly. It's nothing graphic, but it still serious.

“So what’s the plan, Rory?” Tim crossed his arms as he leaned back against the chair stationed at the bat computer as he watched his girlfriend type away on the keyboard. They were so close to cracking the Penguin case, but they were missing a few key components that made it all fit together.

What they knew was that Cobblepott was storing toxic waste for Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and where Harley was involved more often than not so was the Joker. But why was Cobblepott storing it, and what were Ivy and Quinn giving him in return? Hiding things from Batman was not an easy task, so he would have made her pay up big time.

Rory was scanning through the footage from patrol the night before when they had a run-in with some of Cobblepott’s men. They had managed to tie up a few of them and keep them conscious but what neither Rory nor Tim knew was that Cobblepott had equipped them with cyanide pills hidden in fake teeth. With those three men willing to kill themselves, Rory and Tim searched the other few and pulled out the fake tooth before they could wake and kill themselves too.

Whatever Penguin was doing, it was nothing good if he had his men willing to kill themselves to keep it hidden.

Her eyes watched the screen intently, not hearing what Tim had said. She was frustrated, the case wasn’t going where they wanted and Rory was just having a lot of off days lately. It was the fifth or sixth time she watched through the footage before she finally had enough. With a cry of anger, Rory hit the desk with her fists making items fall off from the sudden force of her hands.

Tim jumped a little at her action and got up, placing his hands on her shoulders. He could see how irritated it had made her, and he wanted to help ease her frustration but everything he tried had only made it worse. It wasn’t Tim’s fault Rory was angry, and she hated it when she would snap at him. She knew that he was trying to help, but sometimes you just needed to punch something and scream at the top of your lungs.

“Rory, why don’t you get something to eat and give your eyes a break? Once you are done, you can come back with a fresh pair of eyes and we can keep looking okay?” he said, moving to rub her shoulders. Tim felt her shoulders relax under his touch slowly, but she was still tense.

“How are you so calm?” she asked softly, leaning into his touch.

Tim chuckled and kissed her cheek. “One of us has to be, speaking of that though have you been feeling any better?”

Rory shook her head, “No, if anything I want to punch things even more.” Rory had no idea why she was so angry, when she was with the Outlaws a couple of weeks ago she was fine. It’s been since she came back that Rory has just felt off about everything. With a sigh, she pulled out of Tim’s hold and turned to look at him.

“Maybe I am just really hungry, I’ll go grab something. Do you want me to bring you back anything?” she asked, looking at him.

Tim watched her with narrowed eyes, something was definitely off with Rory. “A cup of coffee and a bagel if you could,” he said softly and placed a kiss on her forehead. Rory smiled softly and turned to go up the stairs and headed for the kitchen.

On her way up she passes both Stephanie and Cassandra, Barbara was at the Police Station with her dad and was going to stay with him for the weekend. They waved at her, Rory only giving them a half-hearted wave. As she passed, the two of them gave each other a look. That wasn’t their Rory, and they were starting to get worried as well.

Jason watched as Rory walked into the kitchen and made herself a sandwich, not saying a word. He and Tim were the first to notice that something was wrong with Rory, the two of them were the closest to her. She hadn’t picked on him in a couple of days, and Jason wasn’t willing to admit it but he kind of missed her doing it.

“Hey, Princess. Everything okay?”

Rory glanced back at him and shrugged. “I’m fine, Jason.”

Jason stopped mid-bite and stared at her. Rory never called him by his actual name, it was always nicknames with them. What happened to her? Setting his sandwich down, Jason stood up and walked over to her.

“Rory, come on. Talk to me, you’ve been acting weird since we got back from France. Did something happen that you aren’t telling me?” He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms as he looked down at her.

“I said I’m fine.” she snapped, chopping a tomato to put on her sandwich.

“But you aren’t fine, what’s on your mind,” he asked.

“Jason, stop talking before I kick your ass.”

Jason frowned, “Go ahead, do it then. It might make you feel better.”

Rory took a deep breath, she didn’t want to take Jason up on that offer because she was worried that if she sparred with him it wouldn’t end well. Rory knew what her anger did to herself when she fought, and she didn’t want to hurt anyone because of it. Slowly she turned to look at Jason who was giving her a worried frown, it wasn’t his fault she was angry. Hell, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, Rory was just angry about everything and she didn’t know why.

“Maybe another day, I don’t want to hurt you,” she said softly and went back to making her sandwich.

“You know that I am here if you need someone to talk to okay?”

Rory gave him a nod. “I know, once I figure out why I am upset maybe I’ll come and find you.”

Jason gave her a half-smile and ruffled her hair. “Alright, maybe go relax some. I’ll go down to the cave and see if I can assist Tim with anything.” He turned to leave when Rory pulled on his sleeve. Turning, he saw that she was holding a cup of coffee and a bagel.

“Can you take these to him, please? He asked me to bring him down something and I figured if you are going down, you could take it for me?” she asked. Jason looked at her then at the items in her hand before taking them.

“Sure thing princess, go try and relax.” he then turned on his heel and left for the cave.

Rory watched Jason walk out before grabbing her sandwich and walked to her room with it. When she opened the door, Rory saw that Stephanie was there sitting on her bed cross-legged waiting for Rory to arrive.

“Hey Steph, what’s up?” she asked, sitting on the bed and taking a bite of the sandwich.

“Rory, can I ask you a few questions?”

Rory gave her a skeptical look. “You know that you can ask me anything right?” she picked up her sandwich and took another bite.

“I know, but some of these questions are a little personal and I don’t want you to bite my head off.” Stephanie looked at the sandwich and gave it a skeptical look. “What the hell is that?”

Rory looked at her sandwich and then back at Steph. “A fried egg sandwich with tomato and cheese? Why what the hell is wrong with it?”

“Rory, you hate eggs and cheese. You said that it is a combination that should never have existed.” Stephanie commented. “Yet here it is, on your sandwich and you are eating it.”

She rolled her eyes at her friend and went to take another bite of the sandwich, but with Steph mentioning that Rory did in fact hate eggs and cheese the smell turned sour and her stomach twisted into knots. Dropping her sandwich onto her plate, Rory took off for the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Rory fell to her knees and threw up into the toilet. She heard Stephanie come in and sit beside her to hold her hair back. Steph may not be the smartest resident of Wayne Manor, but she could connect the dots. Something was definitely wrong with Rory, and she had a sneaking suspicion of what it was.

Once Rory was done, Steph helped her to her feet and cleaned her up. How was she going to bring this subject to Rory’s attention without freaking her out? She stepped out and grabbed Rory a free shirt and sweats so she could relax comfortably in bed. Steph held her wrist up to Rory’s forehead and tried to see if she had a fever. Maybe she was overthinking it and Rory was just sick with a bug?

Rory had no fever, but she looked exhausted and ready to collapse at any second. She gripped Stephanie’s arm as she led her to the bed and helped her relax. Steph sat next to her and set the sandwich aside. “Do you think the eggs were bad?” she asked.

Rory gave her a shrug. “I don’t know, Alfred had made them for breakfast this morning and no one else is sick.”

“What if it’s something else, Rory?”

Rory gave her friend a confused look. “What the hell are you talking about Steph?”

Stephanie took a deep breath and sighed. “Before you get upset, hear me out.” Rory watched her with concern on her face. “You’ve been angry and frustrated since you got back from France right? It’s not just me that noticed, either the others have seen it too. You’ve also been eating really weird things, like the egg sandwich earlier for the last few days.”

Rory listened as Steph talked, and she didn’t like where this was possibly going.

“And it’s no secret that you and Tim are intimate often.”

Yeah, Rory was not liking this conversation at all.

“What’s the possibility that you are pregnant?” Steph asked softly, looking down at her friend who was lying on the bed quietly and still.

Rory swallowed, she wanted to deny it but there was a lingering thought in the back of her head. Neither Tim nor Rory have been safe the last few times they slept together, it had slipped both of their minds. And if what Steph was saying true, and she really had been on edge since she got back from France then that would mean it was really damn possible.

“Rory, talk to me,” Steph said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Rory looked at her, a slight panic in her eyes. “It’s possible…” she whispered softly.

Stephanie watched as Rory’s eyes teared up and placed her head in her lap, and Steph began to stroke her hair to comfort her. This wasn’t the first time any of them were having this problem, Dick had it with Barbara, Kori, and Shawn, and she even had one of her own. None of them turned out true, but she was still worried for Rory.

“Do you want me to go and get some tests for you?”

Rory nodded and wiped her eyes. “Do you think Babs would be angry if I showed up at her place? I don’t want to do it here…”

Steph brushed her hair back from her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, why don’t you pack a small bag and I’ll have Cass drop you off while I go to the store okay?”

“Okay.” Rory sniffed and wiped her eyes and got up, and grabbed a spare gym bag she had laying around before throwing clothes and various items into it. Stephanie slipped out of the room and texted Cass and Babs about the situation and within minutes Cassandra was with Rory helping her pack and Babs was getting the spare room set up for Rory to stay in if she needed a couple of days.

Steph got into her car and left for the store while Cass and Rory had tried to sneak out. They were almost out the front door when Alfred and Bruce had caught them.

“Miss Cassandra, Miss Aurora where do you two think you are going at this hour?” Alfred asked, taking notice of the bags the two of them were carrying.

Rory was about to open her mouth to speak, but Cass beat her to it. “We’re going to see Barbara, for a girl’s night. All this testosterone is probably what’s making Rory cranky.”

Alfred looked amused at her words, but Bruce detected something more. He saw the look on Rory’s face before she hid it from view and he could see that she had been crying, there were red rings around her eyes while she sniffed very few seconds. He could tell when one of his kids lied to him and knew for certain that Cass was indeed lying to him, but why would she lie?

Cass looked to Bruce and could tell that he didn’t believe them. “Trust me, it will do her some good to get out of here for a bit.” and that was the truth.

Bruce let out a sigh and nodded. “Just stay safe, and tell Barbara and Jim that I said hello.”

Cass gave him a smile and ushered Rory out the door, who was on the verge of breaking down. Rory didn’t have a car, and Cass didn’t feel the need to own one when Alfred drove her almost anywhere. The two of them walked down to the garage and opened it, to see what they would ride.

Rory owned two bikes, her nicer and more durable one was for their nightly activities while the more flashy model was for when she went out places. Lucky for them, the keys were in the lock cabinet and there were helmets to spare. Walking over, Rory grabbed the keys while Cass grabbed helmets.

Tossing her the keys, Cass climbed on the bike and handed Rory the second helmet before starting the bike. Rory placed the bags in the storage compartment and climbed on behind Cass and held on tight.

“You crash my bike, I will hurt you, Cassandra,” she said softly, with a small chuckle.

Cass rolled her eyes. “I am a great driver thank you, just hold on tight. Steph said that she was checking out.”

Rory nodded and flipped down the visor as Cass took off into the night, leaving Wayne Manor in the dust. Barbara’s father Jim Gordon lived in Downtown Gotham, not very far from the GCPD since he was the commissioner and needed to be there often. The drive there was silent, as Rory held tight not wanting to fall off the back of the bike. She had decided it was better Cass drive because she didn’t feel like it was a good idea.

About twenty minutes later, they had pulled into the garage of the Gordon Household where they saw Stephanie’s car parked there already and Jim’s police cruiser nowhere in sight. Cass turned off the bike and got off, helping Rory stay on her feet. Ever since Steph had mentioned that she could be pregnant, Rory’s body didn’t want to work. Her hands were shaking and she constantly lost balance because she was so worried about the outcome of the tests.

Closing the garage, they opened the door. “Hey, Babs! We’re here!” Cass called.

“Living room Cass!” Steph’s voice called from around the corner. Rory and Cass walked quietly and saw Steph sitting on the couch with Barbara next to her, several plastic bags at their feet. Seeing the bags, Rory’s stomach dropped and her knees went out from under her.

Quickly Cass caught her and helped her sit on the couch, Rory was visibly shaking now and her face drained from color, she almost looked dead to them. Barbara wheeled over and took both of Rory’s hands in hers. “Rory, look at me.”

Rory couldn’t focus, everything was becoming too much and she couldn’t breathe. Her head was going fuzzy and her whole body hurt, quickly her eyes looked around unable to meet Barbara’s soft gaze.

Steph and Cass sat next to her and placed their hands on hers. “Rory, listen to me. You need to calm down, at this rate you’ll pass out before you can take the tests.”

She could hear Barbara, but she could barely focus enough to see her. “Take a deep breath.” Rory listened as she heard Barbara take a deep breath, and did the same. “Good, now let it out.” Rory did the same.

It took a few tries, but Rory’s breathing was calmer and could focus on things around her again. “Good, feel better?”

Rory shook her head. “I’m so scared Babs…” she muttered softly, her voice shaking as she spoke.

“I know you’re scared, but you need to do this,” Babs said, holding her hands tighter.

“But what if they turn out positive?”

“Then we deal with that, but first we don’t even know if they are positive or negative yet. That’s the first step we have to take, okay?” Barbara knew what Rory was feeling, she had gone through this with Dick twice before and both times they had turned out negative.

Rory gave her a nod and took another deep breath. She watched as Steph handed her one of the bags, the other two staying on the floor. “What’s in those?” she asked.

Steph shrugged. “Chocolate, hot chocolate mix, and maybe some alcohol depending on the results. I figured, either way, you needed some comfort after this.”

Rory gave Steph a grateful smile and took the bag from her as her hands shook still. Cass helped her up and led her to the bathroom, and Rory shut it behind her. Opening the boxes was a struggle as Rory’s hands couldn’t stop shaking, and tears began to fall from her eyes again.

What if she was pregnant? How would she tell Tim? Would he be upset, or would he be excited about it? What about her, was Rory ready to have a baby if it came out positive? Rory wasn’t even sure what kind of mother she would be to a child that belonged to two vigilantes. One of them would have to retire to take care of it, and Rory couldn’t ask that of Tim. He loved being Red Robin too much and he did more good for the city and the world than she did. All Rory did was make matters worse as destruction followed behind wherever she went.

Once she took the tests, Rory set them on the floor and buried her head between her knees as she curled up in the corner of the bathroom. Positive or negative, Rory knew that things were going to be different. Peeking up, her breath caught in her throat as the results began to form on the tests.


	34. Chapter Thirty-Three

Rory exited the bathroom, dragging her feet as she walked. Hearing the door, the three people waiting on the couch looked over with expectant expressions. To them, Rory’s face was unreadable except for the fact that she was in shock. Stephanie got up and ran over to her, bracing Rory with her arms.

“Rory, what happened? What did they say?”

Rory gripped Steph’s hand tightly, still shaking from her panic, and turned to look at her friend. “They’re all negative.”

“How are you feeling? Why don’t you come and sit?” Stephanie kept a tight hold on her friend and led her to the couch so she could sit with Cassandra and Barbara. Rory looked around, her senses were heightened from the shock she was feeling and her breathing started picking up again.

“Rory, don’t get yourself worked up again.” Cass dug into the bag and pulled out two items, a bar of chocolate and a bottle of what seemed to be cheap whiskey from a run-down liquor store. Without a second thought, Rory reached for the whiskey and took a large drink of it, completely passing up the chocolate bar.

After a swig, Rory took a deep breath and sighed before taking more. It may have been a cheap bottle, but it was still strong, and could feel her body had stopped shaking. Looking at the others, she could see they were waiting for her to say something. “I don’t know if I should be happy or upset,” she admitted.

“Should I be happy that I’m not pregnant, and don’t have to worry about everything that comes with that, or upset because I’m not pregnant and deep down I secretly hoped that I was because it was something I wanted?” Rory didn’t get to finish her sentence before she broke down in sobs.

Stephanie and Cassandra pulled her into a hug, as Barbara rubbed her back softly. Rory sobbed incoherently as they tried to comfort her, a pregnancy scare was not to be taken lightly. She didn’t want to admit it to herself until the tests were negative, but Rory secretly wanted to be a mother. It was a dream of hers to have a little her or Tim running around, but she was scared that she would mess it up.

Rory knew that she wasn’t ready to be a mother. She barely had time with her own mother to learn from her what to do, not that Dinah wasn’t a great mother figure to her but it was different. She cried for almost twenty minutes before she was able to calm herself down and think about what she needed to do.

“Rory, are you going to tell Tim?” Cass asked.

Rory’s head shot up and she looked at her. “No, Tim can’t know! I can’t tell him that I thought I was pregnant with his child and went through all of this without him.”

“He needs to know, it involves him too. It’s not fair to him for you to keep it a secret.” Barbara said. Both times when it happened with Dick, she told him before and he was there with her waiting for the results. But Rory was different, she handled things differently than any of them did and wanted to do things herself.

“I can’t Babs, I don’t want to do this to him. It would change things between us and I don’t want things to change,” she explained, taking another swig of the cheap whiskey.

Stephanie sighed and took the bottle from Rory, drinking some herself. “It’s late, we should probably get back Cass. I think Rory is going to stay here for the night, right?” she looked over at Rory who nodded.

“As long as Babs doesn’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t, stay as long as you need. I know my dad won’t mind, he would enjoy having someone else who is able to cook around.” she smiled, Rory giving her a grateful look.

“Should we tell Bruce?” Steph asked, standing up and grabbing a bar of chocolate.

Rory shook her head, “I’ll tell him when I go back, or at least Alfred so an adult knows why I disappeared.”

“Rory, you do know all of us are adults too?” Cassandra asked, grabbing the keys to Rory’s bike.

“Yes, we are adults but that doesn’t mean we are mature adults.” Stephanie interrupted.

Rory let out a laugh and stood up before losing balance and falling over, the whiskey hitting her harder than she had previously thought. She flopped back onto the couch and laughed, drinking more before Barbara took the bottle and confiscated it.

“You two get out of here, I’ll take care of Rory,” she called as the two of them left. It took a while, but Babs had managed to get Rory to stand straight and led her to the spare room that was made. Hugging Barbara good night, Rory entered the room and changed into a pair of pajamas she had packed and flopped onto the bed.

Now that she was alone with her thoughts, Rory couldn’t stop thinking. She knew that she needed to tell Tim, but there was that fear deep down that terrified her. There was no telling how he would react, having kids wasn’t exactly something that they talked about before so she had no idea if he even wanted any to begin with. Her thoughts were filled with many scenarios, of what could-be and what-ifs, but none of them eased her worry.

Rory herself was still unsure how she was feeling, she was hurt and upset, mourning the loss of a child she thought she could have had but relieved at the same time because she was still young and there was so much she needed to do. Rory was borderline stable these days, and with the threat of Deathstroke always hanging over her shoulder it scared the hell out of her.

What if she was pregnant and someone like Slade or even worse Joker got a hold of their child and had Rory and Tim bending to their will in order to ensure their kid’s safety? Tears slipped from her eyes as she went to wipe them, and the sounds of sirens flooded in from the windows. Getting up slowly, she walked over and sat on the window ceil. If she squinted hard enough, Rory could see the outline of several of Gotham’s protectors out and about and none of them knew it was Rory who was watching them.

She was determined to hide this from the others for as long as she could, at least until she knew where she stood with the whole having kids thing. Rory ran a hand through her hair as she watched the night sky, her phone across the room on the nightstand where it was charging. Every once in a while she would peek over and see that it was blinking from a notification, most likely from Tim or Jason wondering where she was and why she didn’t tell them she was leaving for the night.

If Bruce had told them where she was, then they were able to just stop by and see her but hopefully, Steph and Cass had deterred them from doing so. Looking once more at the night sky, she got up and walked back to bed and curled up. Her thoughts were filled with a little black-haired, blue-eyed baby that resembled both Rory and Tim, and thought of what it would be like if they were to have a child.

Rory drifted off to sleep with those thoughts, and tears rolling down her cheeks.

When she woke the next morning, Rory heard voices. One was Barbara for sure, but there was at least one more that she didn’t recognize. Slowly she sat up and rubbed her eyes, it was a new day and maybe she was going to be in a better mood.

Looking to her right, she saw that there were many missed messages and calls from various people, mainly from Tim.

_Dragon Boy: Rory, where the hell did you go? Jason said that you went to lay down and rest but you weren’t in your room._

_Dragon Boy: Please tell me that you didn’t sneak out again._

_Dragon Boy: Songbird, seriously. I am worried, call me, please?_

_Dragon Boy: Bruce said that you were staying at Barbara’s Is everything alright?_

_Dragon Boy: Aurora, come on answer me, sweetheart, please?_

The final one from Tim was just from a few hours ago.

_Dragon Boy: Aurora James Sonnet-Queen if you do not respond before noon I am going to walk my ass over to Babs’ and find you myself._

Looking at the clock, Rory saw that it was past eleven-thirty so she quickly sent a reply.

_You: Relax, I got a little drunk at Babs’ and didn’t have my phone. I’m okay, promise._

She knew that most of that was not true, she didn’t get a little drunk. She got pretty drunk and was most definitely not okay. Her head was pounding and she still didn’t know what to do about the situation.

Looking more, she saw that there were messages from Jason, Steph, Cass, and Dick.

_Princess: Princess, where the hell did you go? When I said go relax, I didn’t mean to disappear._

_Princess: Steph told me that you were having a rough night and is staying with Babs, do you want me to stop by?_

_Princess: Answer your fucking phone before your boyfriend explodes from worry._

_Steph: We told Alfred that you might need a few days to recuperate, and to run interference with Bruce and the boys. Thankfully he agreed and you are off for the next few nights, enjoy your free time._

_Cass: Tim is really worried, I think you need to tell him sooner than later._

_Big Bird: Babs told me that you had a hard time last night, just try and relax while you can and I’ll see you later._

Once she finished reading them all, a new one from Tim arrived.

_Dragon Boy: Are you okay? Why the hell did you get drunk Songbird?_

Rory sighed softly and typed a short reply.

_You: I got to talking and had a little too much whiskey last night. Again, I’m alright Tim._

That was all lies. Rory carefully got up and out of bed and walked out to the kitchen to see three people there eating breakfast. On one side of the table was Barbara and on her right was a man Rory had never seen before, who had to be her father Commissioner, Jim Gordon. What surprised her the most was the fact that Dick was sat on Babs’ left side shoving his face with waffles.

“Dick, what the hell are you doing here?” she asked.

Dick looked up from his food. “I like to eat here with Babs and Jim when it’s waffle day, he makes good waffles.” he chuckled. “But how are you feeling, Steph said that you were feeling sick?”

Rory’s eyes shifted to Babs, who gave her a nod saying that she didn’t tell him the truth. “Yeah, I was feeling a bit under the weather and passed out early.” she walked over and sat in the open seat and picked up a few waffles.

“So you must be Aurora, Barbara has told me a lot about you. She says you’re from Star City?” Jim asked, looking at her.

Rory gave him a nod. “Yes sir, I was actually born here and lived with my parents until I was seven when we moved to Star City. I got a scholarship for dance there,” she explained and took a bite. Once it entered her mouth, Rory’s eyes widened.

“Woah, these are really good,” she muttered and ate more.

“I know,” Jim chuckled. “It’s why Dick keeps coming back whenever I make them.”

Rory gave him a small smile and ate more of her food as they all shared some small talk, quite a bit of it was Jim asking Rory questions about Star City and how the Green Arrow handled things compared to Batman with Gotham.

Each answer she provided was calculated, intended to throw him off any possible scent of her involvement with Green Arrow or Batman. Their conversation was cut short however when he got a call from the precinct and had to leave on short notice. He kissed his daughter goodbye and waved at Dick and Rory before he took off.

Once Jim was gone, Dick turned to look at her. “What the hell happened?”

Rory squinted her face to make herself look confused. “What are you talking about Dick?” she asked.

“I mean, that you have given different answers to different people. You had just told Tim that you were a little drunk, and from the look of you it was more than a little. Babs told me that you were having a rough night, and then Steph mentioned that you were feeling sick. So which one was it Rory?” he crossed his arms and looked at her.

Rory huffed and she too crossed her arms. “I don’t think it matters all that much what I did last night.”

“It does matter when Tim was driven out of his mind with worry because you just up a disappeared. I’m only asking once more, what happened.”

“Nothing happened Dick, now will you shut up? My head hurts,” she muttered lying her head on the table softly.

Dick let out a sigh and got up to throw away the napkins and paper plates, when he opened the trash can he saw three boxes that held pregnancy tests with the used tests tucked underneath. His sudden silence made both Babs and Rory look at him and their eyes widened.

He looked up and saw the two women staring at him, with wide eyes. He didn’t need to ask who they were for, Dick was smart enough to figure that one out for himself. Throwing the napkins and plates away, he shut the lid.

“Rory,” he said softly. “are you pregnant?”

Rory dropped her gaze to the floor and shook her head. “No, they were all negative,” she muttered. Thinking about it again had brought tears to her eyes once more and she tried her hardest to hide them. Aurora Queen was supposed to be a badass crime-fighting machine, she couldn’t be seen crying especially over something like this.

Dick’s gaze softened. He knew that look all too well, he himself having caused them. He walked over and knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “What made you think that you were pregnant?”

“It was Steph, she pointed out the evidence and there was more than enough to back up her claim so she went to the store last night and bought me a few while Cass drove me here,” she explained.

“Does anyone else know?”

Rory could tell the context of his question, what he was really asking was if Tim knew or not. She tried to blink the tears away and took a deep breath. “No, Cass and Steph are the only other ones that know.”

She knew what he was going to say before it was even out of his mouth. “And no, I’m not telling Tim. He has enough on his plate right now with the Penguin case I don’t need to add a baby scare to it and make everything worse.”

Dick sighed and pulled the chair up to sit on it. “Rory, you know that’s not fair. It will be worse if you don’t tell him, Tim is smart and will notice that you are keeping something from him.” he started.

“Tim is under the impression that I am suffering from a slight hangover and it’s going to stay that way until I decide to tell him the truth.” Rory snapped, glaring at Dick.

“So you’re just going to keep lying to him? Rory, come on I know you’re smarter than that. How do you think he will feel about all of this when he finds out that you lied to him instead of being straight about it from the beginning?” Having gone through this before, he knew it was better Tim knew sooner than later.

“Dick, you think I haven’t thought of that yet? Of course, I’ve thought about he will feel, I barely understand how I feel about all of this! I can’t tell what upsets me more, the fact that it was negative or that I’m happy it was negative. I don’t want to tell Tim because I don’t want to give him false hope and then break his heart seconds later with the fact that I thought I was pregnant and did all of this without him.” Rory pushed herself up from the chair and stormed to the spare room and changed into a spare set of clothes she had brought, leaving Barbara and Dick there in silence.

She needed to get away, not just from Wayne Manor but from everyone that lived there even if it was for a short while. Rory needed time to think without outside influences telling her what to think, so what’s what she was going to do. Rory looked and saw that it was storming outside, grateful that she had brought a coat, Rory threw it on and flung her bag over her shoulder exiting the room.

Dick was still sitting with Barbara and they seemed to be talking about what to do when she grabbed her shoes and headed for the door.

“Rory, where are you going?” Barbara asked, moving her chair towards Rory.

“I need to get away for a bit, I love you Babs and I am thankful that you let me crash here for a night but I need to be on my own for a bit,” she said, pulling the hood over her head to hide her hair and face.

“You can’t just run from your problems!” she snapped. Rory turned to look at her, surprised that Barbara raised her voice at her.

“I’m not running Babs, I’m processing this my way.”

“Where are you going, and what the hell are you going to tell the others?” Dick asked, walking over.

“That’s for me to know, and me only. Sorry guys, but I need to leave for a bit. I’ll still be in Gotham, but don’t try to find me please.” she begged. “And tell Tim, I’m sorry.” Not giving them the chance to answer, Rory opened the door and took off into the rainy afternoon.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Four

As Rory walked through the grey afternoon lighting, she kept her hood pulled over her face. She was famous because she was a Queen and because she was dating Tim Drake, and wanted nothing more than to get to her destination without interruptions. Knowing Dick and Barbara, they would be back at Wayne Manor and informing the others that Rory has gone off the grid and didn’t want to be found. Knowing Tim, he would ignore them both and would try to find her.

That was why she took the battery out of her phone.

Tim may be a computer genius, but so was she and Rory knew how to hide in plain sight. She didn’t want people knocking on her door to bug her, and she most definitely did not want to see Tim before she knew how to tell him.

Her destination was an old Team Arrow safe house, hidden deep in the back streets of Gotham. It was a dangerous part of town, even in the daytime but Rory knew how to protect herself. She kept her pace quick and walked with a purpose, making sure not to look at any possible cameras or do anything that made her stand out and even took the time to walk through large crowds just so she could disappear if they had managed to follow her.

It took Rory about an hour to get to the safe house, hoping that Oli never changed the code. This was the safe house Team Arrow used when they were deep undercover and not wanting to be found, Rory had designed the security and firewalls in a way that the building could not be found with a satellite and no one could trace any phone or computer once they were inside the building.

Luckily for her, Oliver never changed the code. Quickly she slipped into the building and locked the door behind her. With a sigh, she took her hood off and looked around. It looked the same as the last time she saw the place, she and Roy had chased Merlyn across the country and lost him in Gotham. They didn’t want anyone to know they were in town, so the two of them stayed here.

She walked to the main bedroom and dropped her bag. Now that she was inside, she grabbed out her phone and put the battery back in, tossing it on the bed so it could blow up with notifications from the others, probably wondering where the hell she was.

Even though the tests came back negative, Rory still felt like shit. She was nauseous and wanted to vomit constantly and punch things all at the same time. Heading to the bathroom, Rory decided it was a good idea to get into a shower and try to clear her head.

Once she was in, Rory felt her muscles relax as the hot water hit her skin. With a sigh, Rory washed herself as she got lost in her thoughts. What was she going to tell Tim, and how was she going to tell him? She knew that this was something she couldn’t keep hidden from him forever, he would eventually find out and she wanted to be the one to tell him.

Rory could faintly hear the ringing of her phone from the bedroom and decided that maybe it was time for her to talk to someone. Turning off the water, she stepped out and dried off before pulling out spare clothes she had stashed and got dressed. Looking at the bed, her phone was still ringing, and like she had expected it was Tim who was calling her.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and answered it.

_“Rory, where the hell are you and why can’t I find you!?” he snapped._

Rory flinched back from the phone, Tim’s voice ringing in her ear. “Tim I-”

“ _You said that you were with Barbara, then Dick comes back from breakfast and says that you disappeared and don’t want to be found? Rory, what the fuck is going on?”_

With a sigh. “Tim, please. I promise that I am okay, I’m just trying to take care of some personal stuff right now and I can’t do that at the manor,” she replied.

_“Rory, what is so wrong that you can’t tell me? I thought we were partners and did everything together. Remember, no secrets?”_

Rory could hear the pain in his voice, and it killed her to know that she was the cause of it. Right after they had gotten together, they made a pact of keeping no secrets. Tim knew that Rory had a past that she didn’t want to share, but she had promised that she would try to open up to him when she felt the urge. This was the first thing that she was actively hiding from him, and it was hurting him.

“Tim, please. I don’t know how to tell you, it’s why I left. I need to figure this out with myself before I bring it up to you, it wouldn’t be fair for me or you. I know that it’s not fair keeping you in the dark, but right now it’s the better option.” she explained.

There was silence on the other end as Tim listened and processed her words.

_“Promise me that you are okay?”_

“I promise Tim, with everything I am I promise you that I am okay at the moment,” she answered.

_Tim sighed. “Alright, but please come home soon? I love you, Briar Rose. Take care of yourself.”_

Before Rory could respond, Tim hung up the phone and she stood there quietly. He had just hung up on her, not giving her a chance to say she loved him back. She must have really hurt him by leaving the manor for Tim to do that.

Dropping her phone, she fell to her knees and started sobbing. She hated that she hurt Tim, but Rory needed time to herself. She needed time to think through the pregnancy scare and what it meant to her, and how she felt about it before she even thought of telling Tim.

With the thought of telling Tim, her stomach twisted again and she dove for the bathroom and threw up once more as she kept crying. Between the pain of vomiting and nausea, Rory wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

Initially, she had only planned to be at the safe house for a few days. But those few days turned into a week and that week turned into two. Before she knew it, Rory had been gone for almost a whole month and she knew that it wasn’t getting easier.

By this point, she knew how she felt about having kids and it was a future possibility that she longed to have. The symptoms hadn’t subsided, she still threw up almost every few hours and constantly had a headache from nausea. The tests were negative, but why the hell was she still feeling this way?

Rory was brought out of her thoughts by a knock at her door. Quickly she turned to look at it, worried about who the hell was waiting for her on the other side. Only four people in the world knew where this safe house was, let alone the fact that it exists in the first place. That list consisted of Oliver, Dinah, herself, and Roy.

She carefully walked over to the door and opened it slowly, Rory didn’t even get a chance to see who it was before it was shoved open and she saw a familiar mop of bright red hair. Roy Harper pushed his way through the door and gave Rory a hard glare.

“Aurora Queen, you have a lot of fucking explaining to do. Why don’t we start off with the fact that you are hiding here of all places?” he snapped, slamming the door shut.

Rory jumped back at the sudden slam and looked at Roy with wild eyes. “Why are you here?”

“Why am I here? Why are you here Rory! No one knows where you are other than the fact that you are still in Gotham and none of them had seen you in a month!” he yelled, stepping towards her.

Rory’s anger flared. “Don’t you fucking dare come in here and start yelling at me, Roy Harper! I’ve been here trying to figure out what the hell is going on with me, and I didn’t want to drag the others down as well.” she snapped.

“That’s why I am here Rory! Jason called me, saying that you had been gone a month and you quit talking to everyone! I just want you to talk to me, Rory I want to help you figure this out.” Roy said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“Well, when Jay said that not even Tim could track you through your phone even though it was on, I knew exactly where you were. I was with you when you set up the security and firewall, and I know that there are very few people on this planet that can keep Timothy Drake out of something related to technology,” he explained.

Rory sighed and looked at Roy, she had to tell him. There was no way she could lie to him, Roy knew her too well for that to work. He was the closest person she had, they told each other everything even the nasty parts.

Roy saw the look on her face, with a concerned look he pulled her into a hug, and no sooner did he do that, she had wrapped her arms around him and gripped him tighter and the tears spilled from her eyes. He rubbed her back in a comforting way and held her tight to his chest as she cried. The weeks alone had done a number on her, Rory needed to talk to someone that fully understood her and where she came from.

It took some coaxing but Roy got her towards the couch and held her as she cried into his shirt. His phone got a notification and saw that it was Jason asking where he was. He sent a quick response back saying that he had found Rory and they were both okay.

Rory began to calm down, and her sobs quieted. She knew that Roy wanted an answer to her problems. With a sigh, she turned and stared at her hands. “Before I went off the grid, something happened.”

“What do you mean, something happened?” he asked.

“I thought I was pregnant, and I didn’t know what to do.”

Roy sat there in shock. “Pregnant? Rory, what the fuck? I’d say whom the fuck, but I do not doubt that it was Tim. But what the hell, is that what has you so freaked out?” he asked.

Rory gave him a nod. “I needed time, Roy. The time I wasn’t going to get if I stayed at the manor surrounded by everyone. I didn’t know what I felt, what I was supposed to feel. Barbara and Steph have both had it happen to them, but I’m not them. The two of them have their life together more than I ever will, and I can’t just drop a baby bomb on Tim, not in the middle of a case.”

Roy nodded. “Alright, it’s been a month now so why are you still hiding? You’re not pregnant, so what is keeping you here then?” he asked.

“I haven’t told Tim, and I don’t know how to,” she answered, playing with her thumbs.

“You don’t know how to, or are you too scared to because you worry about how he will react?”

Rory stayed quiet. Roy knew her better than anyone else in the world, even herself sometimes. If he said that she was scared, it was because he saw something that she couldn’t see about herself. But it was the truth, more than anything Rory was terrified of telling Tim what had happened. She didn’t want to see his face when he found out that she hid it from him, and it’s why she was hiding for a month.

“You need to tell him, Rory. He is worried about you, they all are. I think even Damian is a little concerned about you, and that’s saying something. You can’t hide forever, or you’re going to lose him and he is the best thing to ever happen to you.” he said, “I don’t want to watch you lose that because you’re scared.”

Rory looked at him, Roy’s eyes were kind and caring. He wanted nothing more than to keep her safe and take care of her, but again he could see that there was more to the situation than she was letting on.

“The Aurora Queen I know, would not hide from something because she was scared of it. Rory, you are the most badass person I know and I have never seen you back down because of fear. Don’t let the fear stop you from living your life, it’s not meant to be easy especially in our line of work.” he explained.

She listened as he spoke and as usual, Roy was right. Rory Queen never backed down from a fight or anything because she was scared. Why the hell was she letting a pregnancy scare stop her? She needed to tell Tim, but she still couldn’t find the words no matter how hard she tried.

“Since I am here, why don’t I cook lunch, and maybe we can head back together?” Roy asked, pulling her off of his lap and got up and headed to the kitchen.

Rory rolled her eyes and followed him to the kitchen. “So what are we cooking?”

“I’m thinking sandwiches, with fried ham and maybe some cheese?” he asked.

Rory grinned “Sounds perfect, I’ll get the ham and cheese. The bread is in the cabinet if you want to get it out.” and walked over to the fridge and pulled out the sliced ham and cheese. She made it over to the stove and began to prep pans for the bread and the ham. The two of them goofed around as they fried it, Roy poking Rory in the side and making her giggle.

He twirled her around the kitchen when Rory felt sick again, the smell of the ham cooking making her nauseous. “I’m sorry, give me a sec,” she muttered and ran towards the bathroom and threw up for the third time that day. Once she was done, Rory slowly got up and washed her face, and brushed her teeth ignoring the fact that Roy stood in the doorway watching her.

Glancing at him, she clenched her jaw and looked away. “Don’t look at me like that Roy, I swear I’m fine.” she snapped.

“Rory, when you took the tests a month ago they were all negative right?” he asked.

She turned to look at him. “Yes, normally when the tests were negative that means I’m not pregnant.”

“There is a thing called false negatives, Rory. It happens more often than not, have you been having any of the symptoms besides the vomiting still?” he asked.

Rory stood there silently. She had nausea, vomiting, the stupid cravings, and now that she was thinking about it, she was late by almost a week. In the beginning, she had just brushed it off as all the stress and worry affecting her body because it happened quite often.

The look on her face told Roy that she was still having symptoms, and he let out a sigh. “Rory, I think you should take the test again.”

Quickly she turned to face him. “No Roy, I am not doing that again. It was bad enough the first time.” she snapped.

He frowned and crossed his arms. “You don’t have a choice, I’m going to buy more and when I get back you are going to take them. Regardless of the results, I am dragging Tim here and the two of you are going to talk.”

Before Rory could protest, Roy was out the door and off to a store. With a huff, Rory left the bathroom and cleaned the safe house up. She hadn’t seen Tim in a month now, and she was nervous. The last call they had was when she went off the grid, wanting to be left alone and it hadn’t gone well.

She had gotten what she wanted, and was able to sort out her thoughts without outside influence but what did it cost? Was her relationship even savable at this point? Why was she even so nervous about seeing him again, they were still together right?

The urge to clean got stronger the more she thought about seeing Tim, she didn’t want him to see something and worry about her more than he needed to before they even got the chance to talk. She was in the middle of cleaning the floors when Roy walked back into the safe house with a plastic bag on his arm.

“Rory, what are you doing,” he asked, looking at her as she picked stuff up.

“I’m cleaning, Roy. What the fuck does it look like I’m doing?” she snapped.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the items she was holding and put them back on the floor before shoving the plastic bag into her hand and ushering her towards the bathroom. “I will pick up the floors, you take the tests. Now.”

Rory flipped him off and entered the bathroom and shut the door. The anxiety about taking the tests again rose inside her once more as she pulled the boxes out of the bags. Her hands started to shake, there was no Barbara, Stephanie, or Cassandra there to calm her down this time. Rory had to do it herself.

Taking a deep breath, she took the tests and sat on the edge of the tub while she waited for the amount of time written on the box. For some reason, Rory was calmer than the first time but she was still nervous as hell. Her knee bounced rapidly as she waited, the anxiety eating her alive from the inside.

Roy was dragging Tim to see her regardless of the results, but what was she going to say to him? ‘Hi honey, I thought I was pregnant with your child and hid for a month to process it because it was such a shock.’

Yeah, that wasn’t going to work, Rory needed to be honest with him for sure and she needed to listen to him as much as she wanted him to listen to her. She had no idea what the last month was like for him and the others, something could have happened and there was no way she would know.

The timer Rory set on her phone went off, and she got up to look at the tests.

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking fuck!”


	36. Chapter Thirty-Five

Rory stared at the tests, all of them were negative yet again but it only rose more questions in her. Was this another false negative, or was she not pregnant and her body was acting weird. Rory inhaled deeply trying to calm her rising anger, to no avail. As a result, she punched the mirror and shattered it with her fist.

“Fuck!” Startled at her own actions, she jumped back and saw her knuckles were bleeding.

What kind of idiot punches a mirror?

She took more deep breaths, calming her heart rate some before there was a knock at the door. “Rory, is everything okay?” Roy called from the other side.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m okay, just give me a minute and I’ll be right out.” Digging under the sink, Rory searched for the first aid kit. She felt around with her good hand only to find it was not there, so where did she leave it? With a sigh, she wrapped her hand in a towel to soak the blood coming from her hand and she unlocked the door.

“What was all the cursing from?” Roy asked as she left the bathroom. Rory kept her eyes to the floor and her hand pressed to her chest, avoiding Roy’s look because she didn’t want to go into detail. “And what happened to your hand?”

“It’s fine,” she muttered as she searched under the kitchen sink, letting out a sound of triumph as she found it and pulled it out. “They were all negative like I said they would be Harper.” She placed the kit on the counter and pulled out bandages and cleaning wipes before hunching over the counter and tried to pick the glass out with her left hand.

“What was all negative?”

Rory froze in her spot, dropping the tweezers on the floor. She didn’t have to turn around to see who was there with Roy, what she wanted to know was how long he was there and what exactly he had heard.

“Songbird, what was negative and why is your hand bleeding?” Tim asked, stepping towards her slowly. Rory swallowed and bit her lip, this was not how she imagined this conversation starting. Hell, she wasn’t actually expecting him to talk to her like he still loved her but she had heard it plain as day. There was still a sense of adoration in his tone when he spoke to her like he always did.

“I uh, I punched the mirror.” she chuckled weakly, running her good hand through her hair scared to turn around and meet his eyes. Even though he spoke like he still loved her, she was worried that he wouldn’t look at her like he did before she left.

“What kind of idiot punches a mirror?” he asked. Rory still hadn’t turned around, but she could feel that Tim was right behind her. She watched as his hand reached around and gripped her wrist and slowly turned Rory to look at him. Rory’s breath caught in her throat as she watched his hand bring her injured one up and press a soft kiss to her knuckles.

Rory kept her gaze lower, avoiding his. “Rory, why won’t you look at me?”

“Because, I don’t want to see the disappointment on your face,” she answered softly.

Tim took her chin in his hand and lifted her head to look at him. “Do I look disappointed to you?” Rory’s dark eyes finally met his light blue ones, and she could see that he wasn’t disappointed. That’s not what he looked like at all, in fact, he looked the opposite. He looked relieved.

Tim’s hand let go of her wrist as he wound his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him and bent his head down to meet her lips in a soft kiss, gripping her chin still. It had been a month since she had kissed him last, and she had almost forgotten what it felt like.

As she returned the kiss, Rory’s good hand gripped the fabric of his shirt as she held him close to herself. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him until this moment, her heart and body yearned for him and his touch. Before they could go much further, they were interrupted by a couch behind him from Roy.

Rory slowly pulled away from the kiss, letting out the breath she was holding. Her eyes fluttered open as she gave Tim a small smile. Tim chuckled softly and pecked her cheek. “Let me look at your hand and we can talk okay?”

She looked behind him towards Roy, “Can you give us a few minutes Roy? I have a lot of explaining to do.”

He gave her a nod, “You have my number, just give me a call if you need me to come back.”

Rory smiled softly and watched as Roy left the safe house, leaving her and Tim alone. Her eyes met his once more and watched as he pulled her towards the table and grabbed the first aid kit. Tim sat her down before pulling up a chair for himself and began to pluck the shards out of her hand.

“So, are you going to tell me why you punched a mirror, why you left or what exactly was negative first?” he asked.

Sure Tim was upset at her, Rory had up and left without a word to anyone but Barbara and Dick and they weren’t able to stop her. But that didn’t mean he hated her, he loved her still. Tim loved Rory more than anything in the world and it broke his heart hearing that she disappeared without so much as a heads up.

“Or, how the fuck I wasn’t able to find you until Roy gave me directions to get here.”

Rory let out a small chuckle, wincing as he dug out a large shard of glass. “This is one of Oli’s safe houses. It’s meant for when we are deep undercover and don’t want to risk being found. When you tried pinging my phone, the satellite just glazed over this place right? Same when you tried to trace my tooth?”

Tim gave her a nod to show that he was listening. “Yeah, how the hell is that possible?”

“I designed the software, security, and the firewall to keep this place hidden. It’s designed so not even the great detective himself is able to find it, and once it is inside these walls nothing is traceable.” She explained.

Tim stopped working on her knuckles and looked up at her. “You designed something like that? Holy shit Rory.” he chuckled and went back to work on her hand. “So, that answers that question. What about the other ones?”

“Those are a little harder to explain,” she admitted. “I guess that I should start at the beginning. The reason why I left, I mean. Just promise me that you’ll hear me out before you say anything?”

Tim gave her a worried look but nodded. “Alright, I’m listening.” he finished wrapping her hand, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles once more his eyes not leaving hers.

Rory took a deep breath. “You remember how I was always angry before I left? Well, you weren’t the only one who noticed it. Jason and Steph noticed it as well and Steph had made a few connections that freaked me out a bit.”

She looked at Tim to see that he was still watching her, listening to every word she was saying. “What was the connection she made?” he asked.

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “She thought that I was pregnant.”

She felt Tim’s hands freeze in her own, dreading to see the look on his face. Slowly, she looked up and saw that his face was a mixture of a lot of things. Shock, confusion, worry but there didn’t seem to be a trace of anger.

“That’s why I went to Babs’, I didn’t want to take the tests at the manor and risk getting caught by someone I didn’t want to know yet. Steph ran to buy me tests, and I took them. They came out negative.”

“So you’re not pregnant?” he asked, his voice matching the look on his face.

Rory nodded. “No, but with everything, I didn’t know how to process it. I was upset and relieved at the same time and it wasn’t fair-”

“Wasn’t fair? No shit it wasn’t fair Rory! Why didn’t you tell me, didn’t I deserve to know?!” he snapped.

“Of course you did, I just didn’t know how to tell you! Do you think that I didn’t want to tell you? Damn it, Tim, I didn’t want to possibly get your hopes up only to break your heart seconds later! I wanted a chance to think for myself without you or anyone telling me what to do.” she stood up from her chair, it sliding back as she stood.

“You should have told me! I would have understood! Why do you think that you have to do everything alone!?” He rose to his feet to meet Rory and looked down at her.

Rory’s eyes flared with anger. “I have always done things on my own Timothy Drake, I never asked for help, not from anyone. I left because I was scared, scared of what I was feeling, and the fact that both of our futures could have been changed in the blink of an eye. Neither one of us had even thought of talking about the possibility of having kids and all of a sudden I drop a baby bomb on you and in the middle of a case? Tim, I may be slightly crazy but I know that you work hard enough as it is and don’t need any more stress on your shoulders.”

Tim and Rory stared at each other, both of them radiating anger and irritation amongst other things. “I get you have always done things on your own, but we’re a team you and me. We’re supposed to work together through anything, this is no different.” he let out a sigh and his anger died down, as he watched Rory’s eyes.

“I love you so fucking much Rory, pregnant or not that won’t change. One day I want to have a family with you, it’s something I’ve wanted since I realized I love you.” His hands went up to cup her cheek, making her look at him.

Rory watched him, tears pricking her eyes. “That’s what I want too, I was so scared that it wasn’t what you wanted as well. It’s why I ran, I didn’t even know what I wanted at that time, I was hurting and confused and didn’t want to drag you into that mess.”

Tim wiped the tears from her eyes. “Again, that’s the point of partners. I don’t ever want to see that you are hurting, especially if there was something I could do about it. I want to be by your side through everything.”

Rory chuckled softly with a smile. “That’s starting to sound like a proposal there Dragon Boy, be careful.”

Tim laughed. “Would that be such a bad thing?” he teased “But let’s wait on that part for another day. How about this instead?” reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box and opened it, revealing a small silver ring with what looked to be a black diamond.

“Tim, what is that?” she asked.

“This is a promise,” he answered. “A promise that I will be by your side through everything that comes our way and I will fight to my last breath for you.”

Rory watched him with a small smile as he slid the ring onto her finger, the black diamond glistening in the light. “Now, are we done fighting and I can finish explaining everything?” she asked.

Tim laughed and sat, pulling Rory onto his lap and held her close. “The symptoms didn’t go away, I still have them. Roy left earlier this afternoon to get me more tests, we were worried that I had gotten false negatives before and this is what you walked in on. The second round came out negative as well, and of course with my emotions out of whack still, I had gotten angry because I still had no answers for this.”

As she spoke, Tim listened to every word she said and thought. “So, what if we went to the doctor and got an official test? That way we will know for sure if they are real negatives or not, and if they are all negative then maybe get an answer to why you are feeling like this,” he suggested.

“Tim, neither of us can be seen going into a women’s health clinic. The tabloids will go nuts with just a simple photo of even one of us going in,” she explained. Tim nodded in agreement, of course, she was right.

“So what should we do then?” he asked.

Rory sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “What if we told Bruce or even Alfred? Maybe they could help us get what we need?”

Tim was about to answer but the door opened and in walked Roy, accompanied by Jesse. The two of them laughing, hand in hand, and saw that Rory was sat on Tim’s lap with her right hand bandaged and her left hand wearing a diamond ring. They both stopped and stared at the black diamond that was placed on her ring finger no doubt.

“Holy shit Rory, I leave for two hours and you get engaged!?” Roy yelled, looking completely confused.

Both Rory and Tim looked at each other and laughed. “No, it’s nothing like that Roy. This is just a promise that whatever happens the two of us will work it out together.”

Roy looked at Jesse and nudged his shoulder. “Why can’t you do something cute like that for me?” he asked. “I would make something like that look good you know?” Jesse laughed and gave Roy a peck on the lips.

“You are such a dork Roy Harper.”

“But you adore this dork.” Roy teased.

Tim and Rory let out a laugh as they watched Roy and Jesse flirt. She turned her head to the side and pecked him on the lips, making Tim chuckle. “But, if that’s what you want to do then we need to go back to the manor. Bruce and Alfred can get a hold of someone who can help in private. The joys of being rich.”

“Wait, what the hell is going on?” Jesse asked, looking between the two of them.

“Need to know basis, Jess. When Rory is ready to tell you then she will tell you.” Roy said, “But if we are going back to the manor, then you are going to need a ride. I drove back with Jess on his bike, and it only fits two.”

“I drove here as well, I can take her back,” Tim said, holding Rory closer.

“I need to pack up before I go anywhere, so we’ll be right behind you okay?” Rory said, wiggling out of Tim’s grip and went to her bedroom and grabbed her bags. Tim got up and followed her as Roy and Jesse let themselves out.

He leaned in the doorway and watched Rory pack. He understood why she left, Rory was scared and didn’t know what to do but that didn’t make it hurt less. He watched as he threw her stuff back into bags as his mind drifted off to what could be if Rory really was pregnant. Would the baby look like her, or more like him?

Rory turned and saw that Tim was watching her from the doorway. “What are you doing? I thought that you were helping me pack up?” she asked.

“I’m just thinking, about the future you know? I spend so much time thinking about the present, I never took the time to think about what I wanted. When you left, I had a lot of thoughts going through my head. If I did something wrong, or if I didn’t pay you enough attention and it made me realize that if I ever want to have a future with you I need to be ready for whatever it may hold.” he said.

Rory stopped packing and watched him as he spoke. “It’s why I bought that ring, it’s a promise that one day I am going to replace that with an engagement ring. It’s the start of our future together, wherever you go I’m going too.” he smiled.

Her fingers twirled the ring on her finger as she listened to him. Tim was right, they had to be more cautious of their future they weren’t kids anymore tagging along with their mentors to beat up criminals. Both Rory and Tim were their own heroes now that operated on their own, they had grown up.

She put the clothes she was holding down and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “I’m sorry I left Tim, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away about this.”

He took her waist and gave Rory a lopsided smile. “I understand why you did, just next time try to keep me somewhat in the loop?” he chuckled.

“Bold of you to assume that there will be a next time, Dragon Boy.” she giggled softly.

Tim bit his lip softly and leaned down towards her. “With you, there will always be something Briar Rose.” he pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss, Rory playing with the loose hair on the back of his head.

“Now, let’s get packed up before someone assumes we are doing something else.” she chuckled and went back to packing.

It didn’t take them long to get Rory’s stuff together and into Tim’s car. The second that both of them left the walls of the safe house, their phones started receiving calls from Dick and Jason. They climbed into the car and decided to answer Dick’s call, Rory and Tim assuming that he and Jason were in the same room, to begin with.

_“Hey Babybird, Rory popped back up on the satellite. Jason is trying to call her right now to see where she is.”_

“There’s no need to Dick, I’m right here.” Rory chuckled, as Tim started the car and drove for the manor.

 _“Rory! Where the hell did you go? Did you tell Tim anything?”_ he rushed out quickly.

Tim glanced over at Rory. “Dick knows?”

She gave him a nod. “Yeah, he saw the first ones in the trash at Babs’.”

_“First ones, Rory what the hell does that mean? There was more?”_

“Yeah, about that. Do you think that Bruce can get an obstetrician to the manor or something? The second round came out negative again, but I am still having symptoms. Roy thinks it could be false negatives, and I think it might be something else entirely.” she asked.

Dick didn’t get the chance to answer, Jason noticed that Rory was with Tim and tried to take the phone from Dick so he could give Rory a piece of his mind.

_“Jay, let go of the phone!”_

_“No way Dickiebird, I have words that need to be said. Give me the fucking phone!”_

Rory pursed her lips, unamused with their behavior. “Jason, I swear to your empty grave that if you don’t give Dick the phone back it will no longer be empty.” she snapped.

The two of them quit fighting, Rory and Tim hearing Jason mutter under his breath about how Rory’s threats were scary even through a phone.

“Now, as I was saying. I don’t mind if you tell Bruce because at this rate only he, Alfred, Jason, and Damian are the only ones who don’t know. I can’t be seen going into a doctor’s office, with or without Tim it doesn’t matter. People will take this and run with it before I even have answers.” she finished.

_“Alright, I’ll see what I can do. See you in a bit little arrow.”_

Dick hung up the phone and Rory let out a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s scarier, telling Bruce or telling Jason.”

Tim laughed at her words. “I think telling Oliver and Dinah would be worse, they are your parents' Songbird. I’m the guy that possibly knocked up their daughter.”

Rory leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”


	37. Chapter Thirty-Six

Tim pulled up to the manor, his hand holding tight to Rory’s for the entire drive. The two of them had talked about different things on the way from the case and how far Tim had gotten in her absence to the idiotic things Dick and Jason did on the daily. He had asked what she did in the month she was gone, but Rory shrugged and said that she didn’t do much.

What he didn’t know was that Rory still worked while she was gone, with the safe house being untraceable she could hack into anything and not get caught. She had dedicated weekends to getting into Penguin’s systems, branching off of signals of the others while they were on patrol.

Of course that meant she heard and saw everything they did while they were out, Bruce may not have known but everyone had a bad habit of stopping at Bat Burger while they were out and requested that the kid’s meal came with a toy tailored specifically for them. The ones that did it the most were Jason and Dick, they stopped at least twice a night to ask. She even heard Barbara from her end as well and picked up on things they didn’t.

During this time, she had learned some things that Tim didn’t know about the case. Penguin wasn’t working with Harley and Ivy, more so he worked for them. The only reason he was doing what they asked was that Ivy threatened to have him eaten by one of her monster plants if he didn’t cooperate. A good chunk of Cobblepott’s men knew this, but he had threatened them into silence by threatening their families and such.

What intrigued her the most was the fact that Ivy and Harley were not working with the Joker at all. Ever since Dick and Jason had busted her out of his captivity, he hadn’t been seen in Gotham. She wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or worried about it, considering who had put him up to the task of kidnapping Rory in the first place.

The last thing she had picked up, was that Slade was still in Gotham. She would catch glimpses of his trademark black and orange before hacking into traffic cams and such to find him. It was a mystery if he knew that she was hiding during that time or not, but it seemed that he was looking for her. It was mainly through Tim’s or Jason’s cams that she would see him since she had normally patrolled with one of them.

She wasn’t sure was his plan was, it definitely involved her. These were all things she needed to bring up to the Bat sure, but there were more pressing matters on hand at the moment. Tim parked the car and looked at her.

“So, what do we do if you are pregnant Rory?” he asked.

Rory went to speak, the words caught in her throat. “I’m not sure Tim, I would probably have to retire along with officially telling the League no. With both of our inheritances, we wouldn’t need to worry much about money and buy a nice place in the safer parts of the city? We’d have to keep secret that Red Robin has a kid, that would only put a target on our backs” she sighed. “There is a lot to think about, but we can figure all of that out if it comes back positive this time okay? Right now, let’s just focus on figuring out what the hell is wrong with me.”

She unbuckled and went to get out, but Tim pulled her back by the shoulder and kissed her softly. Rory giggled and kissed him back, and saw that multiple people were running out of the manor, trying to get to them first. In the lead was Jason and Steph, but she had managed to jump up and flip off of his shoulders pushing herself in the lead. Rory braced herself for impact as Stephanie collided with her, hugging her tightly.

“Rory, if you ever run away again I will kick your ass,” she said. Rory wrapped her arms around her friend and held her tight.

“I’m sorry Steph, I really am I just didn’t know what to do. It was an asshole thing to leave like that, and I want to make it up to you.”

Stephanie laughed and looked at her friend. “You can make it up to me by naming Rory Jr. after me.”

“Rory Jr.? What the hell Stephanie?” Jason asked, pulling her back, and looked at Rory and pointed a finger at her.

“When I said go relax, that was not giving you the okay to turn into Houdini and disappear Aurora Queen! Where the fuck have you been and why the fuck did you not answer my calls!” he snapped. “And what the hell did she mean by Rory Jr.?”

Rory pushed Jason’s finger away. “Let’s talk about this inside okay? I have a lot to talk about, there are things I haven’t told anyone yet but they are important.” she reasoned.

Jason was angry, she could see in the way he stood and the look in his eyes. But there was more than anger there, Jason was upset that she had left like that. It worried him that he had possibly lost someone else he cared for and it ate him alive from the inside.

Could it have been the early summer sun, the heat, or just the general stress? Whatever it was, Rory started to get dizzy. Tim had noticed that she had started to sway where she stood and quickly ran over and picked her up. “Come on, let’s get you inside to see Bruce,” he muttered.

He carried her inside, the others giving Rory a concerned and confused look, and followed them in. Jason ran for the kitchen and got her a glass of water as Tim carried her to the couch. Carefully he set her down on the couch, giving her a worried look.

Rory’s face had gone pale, and her head was feeling fuzzy. Her body felt hot, and her hands were shaking. Tim knelt in front of her, keeping a hold of her good hand that had the ring on it, and placed a soft kiss on her hand.

“You alright Princess?” Jason asked, handing her the cup of water. He noticed the ring on her hand but decided that this was not the right moment to ask her about it.

Rory reached out to take the cup from him and sipped it slowly. The cold water felt nice as it cooled her overheating body. Not much after, Bruce walked in with Alfred right behind him.

“Rory, it’s nice to have you back. What’s this Dick was telling me about needing a specific doctor?”

Rory slumped a little in her spot. “Thanks for the subtlety there Bruce,” she muttered.

“What does he mean, specific doctor Rory?” Jason asked.

Tim and Rory sat there quietly, not saying anything nor were they meeting the eyes of the people in front of them. The two of them knew that this was not going to be a fun experience, but they did not expect it to go like this.

“Princess, I swear if you don’t start talking I am going to kick your ass.” Jason threatened.

“You will not.” Tim snapped, turning to look at him. Jason frowned a little at Tim’s reaction, he had always been protective of Rory but this was different.

“Tim, it’s okay. He’s going to find out eventually,” she said gripping his hand tighter.

Jason threw his hands in the air and let out a yell. “Will somebody tell me what the fuck is going on!?” he snapped.

“We don’t know for sure what is up with me, but a popular theory is that I might be pregnant,” she said softly, looking at Jason and watched as his eyes widened and looked quickly between the two of them.

“You might be pregnant? Is that why you have been acting weird and disappeared for a month and this specific doctor is a baby doctor? Haven’t you heard of pregnancy tests?” he asked each question quickly, as his brain was trying to process it.

“Yes Jason, I’m not stupid. The first time they came back negative, but I still had symptoms for it a month later and took several more and they still came back negative. Hence the doctor, I want to get a real test done so we can make sure.” she explained.

Jason bit his cheek and nodded as he listened. “Alright, so what do we do? Do we bring the doc to the manor, sneak her into the doctor’s office? I see why she asked you, we get followed around all the time by reporters and they would have a field day with this.”

Rory nodded. “That’s why I had Dick ask them about what we should do.”

“I have a way for you to get tested,” Bruce spoke up. “I have a few friends that can help get you to a doctor and get some answers.

Two hours later, Rory and Tim were sitting in a private doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to show up. The two of them were clearly nervous, Tim’s hand gripped her good one as his leg bounced repeatedly. Rory was trying to keep her breathing normal, she had never liked doctor offices, to begin with, and knowing that the test was a blood test made her more nervous.

The door opened and in walked the doctor, she was an elderly woman with her hair going white and age lines across her face. "Hi, I’m Doctor Agnes.” she smiled and shook their hands.

“Mr. Wayne has informed me of your situation. You have taken tests a month apart and got negative results both times, but you are still getting symptoms?”

Rory nodded. “Yeah, I know these things aren’t always accurate and wanted to get an official test done to see.”

Doctor Agnes nodded as she listened to Rory. “Well, I can for sure get the test done and if it comes back negative again there are possibilities to what you could be experiencing.”

Rory watched as a nurse walked in, and began to prep her arm to draw blood. Tim felt her discomfort and gripped her hand tighter. “Hey, just look at me, Rory. Don’t pay attention to it,” he said.

Rory looked at him with a grateful smile, wincing slightly as she felt the needle enter her skin. Tim kissed her cheek, keeping a tight hold of her hand as the nurse began to draw the blood.

She kept her eyes on Tim, not wanting to risk vomiting again because of the blood. Seconds later, the nurse finished and took the vials back to get tested.

“While we wait for the results, why don’t we talk about the other possibility?” Dr. Agnes asked. Rory and Tim both looked at her and nodded.

“So, there is this thing called a phantom pregnancy. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s not uncommon,” she said.

Rory looked confused. “What is a phantom pregnancy?”

“It’s when your body shows signs of being pregnant, but there is no baby. It’s unsure what exactly can cause it, sometimes it’s mentally when the mom wants a baby so bad that her body conjures up the symptoms. Another cause can be depression, that alone can have serious impacts on the body as well.”

Rory listened quietly as she spoke. She didn’t want to have kids at the beginning of this, it wasn’t even something she had thought of all that much. Sure, she wanted kids in the future but not to the point her body was making her think she was right? Then there was the other option. Dr. Agnes was right, depression can cause serious problems with a person’s body. She had experienced it before after she quit being White Arrow.

Rory was so lost in her depression, that no one ever saw her smile. There was more to it than her sour mood and lack of positivity, her sleep schedule became abnormal and so did her eating habits. Rory would go a couple of days not eating very much, and then one day she would be hungry and not stop eating. She had also stopped taking care of herself, it just seemed like too much to worry about during the day when she was worried about what she was going to do with her life now that she wasn’t White Arrow.

Could her own depression and trauma be the cause of all this?

Tim looked at Rory, watching her as she thought through everything. He wasn’t her and he didn’t know what went through her head, even when she told him what she was thinking half of the time he didn’t understand it because that was just who she was. Rory was unique in the way she thought and sometimes the stuff she would say was the craziest things he ever heard but he never wanted that to change.

He also knew that Rory struggled a lot, her past was not an easy one. In fact, anyone who lived at Wayne Manor never had an easy life. Most of them were orphans, or only had one parent alive. He had seen what depression had done to him, it turned him into a workaholic, and would work himself to death if no one was around to stop him.

Things had gotten easier for the both of them when Rory arrived at Wayne Manor, she had a new surrounding with people that cared for her, and Tim had his childhood friend back. The time they spent together on patrol was some of his favorite moments, it was when Rory truly let loose of the façade and let her colors show. She was always brighter in the night as she fought crime, Rory loved to protect the innocent and he saw that every day.

But ever since Slade came back to town and Joker happened, Rory was different. He should have noticed before now and maybe they wouldn’t be in this mess.

The nurse that took Rory’s blood came back, with a clipboard in her hands crossed over her chest. “So the results are back, and you are not pregnant Miss Queen,” she said.

Rory bit her lip and nodded. Now that she was officially not pregnant, she was upset. There was a part of her deep down she wouldn’t acknowledge that really wanted a child with Tim. But that was where her common sense kicked in, if she wasn’t pregnant then she wasn’t meant to have kids at this time.

She looked over at Tim and she could see the slight disappointment in his eyes as well, telling her that he had the same hope she did deep down.

“So, does that make this a phantom pregnancy?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even.

Dr. Agnes noticed her tone and nodded softly with a sad smile. “Yes my dear, I’m afraid it does. As for treatment, I’m afraid that there is not much I can do. Normally when this happens, it’s because of the psychological state of the mother. Telling by the looks on your faces, you weren’t really expecting any of this to happen. What I can tell you is that you need a break from whatever is stressing you in your life. Now that you have an official answer, your body and mind might be on the same page again and the symptoms will recede in time.”

Dr. Agnes got to her feet and placed a hand on Rory’s shoulders. “I’m sorry my dear, I truly am.” and she walked out of the office. The nurse had led both Tim and Rory out of the office where Roy, Stephanie, Dick, and Jason were all waiting.

Just by looking at her, Rory looked like nothing was wrong. But to Roy, he saw straight through her act and was the first to approach them. “Everything okay Twinkle Toes?”

The other three watched Tim and Rory exchange a look. “I’m not pregnant, doc said that phantom pregnancies happen and that’s what is most likely happening to me,” she answered shortly and pushed past them and walked towards the waiting cars.

The whole ride back to the manor was quiet, so quiet that it was painful. Neither Tim nor Rory had to say what they were thinking, the others could feel it just by looking at them. Rory wrapped her arms around herself while Tim sat quietly and looked out the window.

Dick glanced at Stephanie who sat in the passenger seat while he drove. Jason had driven over with Roy and was behind them. She looked at him and gave a sad smile. Steph may have had a scare, but this was different. With the first tests coming out negative, it ended there for her but not for Rory. She could tell the last month had given Rory a slight chance of hope at a family but it was gone now. All she saw when she looked at her friend was despair with no glimmer of hope left in her. Tim didn’t look that far off either, he had always wanted a family of his own and this could have been his chance but it wasn’t.

When they pulled into the manor, Rory got out quickly and walked straight to her old room locking the door behind her. Deep down, she knew it was a bad move leaving Tim downstairs but she couldn’t stand to be around people. This was the worst pain she had felt in a long time since losing her parents to be exact and she felt like her heart was going to rip in half.

She hadn’t even made it to the bed before she fell to her knees and broke down into sobs, not caring all that much who heard her. Rory was tired of losing things, she was tired of always being hurt and not able to do anything about it.

Tim stood outside her door, listening to her cry. He tried to open the door but she had locked it, so he decided to go the other way. It didn’t take him long, but Tim climbed the tree outside her window and swung onto her balcony. He figured that Rory would probably yell at him, but he knew that this was not a good time to leave her alone.

When he entered through the balcony, Rory’s things were thrown across the room. Her pillows, blankets, books and other various things were all over as he stepped over them to comfort the crying girl in the corner. Slowly he knelt down in front of her and took her hands.

Rory jumped at his touch, only crying harder when she saw him. Seeing her like this broke his heart, he wished there was something he could do to take away the pain but he couldn’t. Instead, he went with the next best thing. He scooped Rory up into her arms and held her as the two of them cried softly, secretly wishing that it had come out positive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone gives me beef, I did the research on phantom pregnancy to make this as authentic as I could. This is not a matter that should be taken lightly, and I partially put this in this story to bring more awareness to it.


	38. Chapter Thirty-Seven

The two weeks that followed were some of the hardest in Rory’s life, her body had slowly gone back to normal and she no longer had the symptoms and was back to patrolling every night with the rest of the bat family.

She had informed the others of her discovery that Penguin was working for Harley and Ivy and not with them. Everyone had seemed pretty impressed until she told them how she got the information.

“You basically piggybacked off our suit coms and cams? What the hell Rory?” Jason cried.

Rory rolled her eyes. “Did you forget that I created an impenetrable software that kept all of you out in a safe house that the supposed greatest detective in the world could not find? I graduated high school in two years, not just anyone can do that you know?”

Jason crossed his arms and looked at Tim, who was sat next to her and sipping his fifth cup of coffee that day. “Your girlfriend is terrifying, she hacked into our suits so she could spy all around Gotham and picked up on things we didn’t. Please don’t piss her off, I don’t want to be on the receiving end of her rage.”

Tim chuckled into his cup. “I make it a habit to not piss her off, the last time I did that it didn’t end well.”

Dick looked up and at the two of them. “What did you do, and what did she do to you?”

Rory had a smug smile spread across her face. “Do you want to tell them, or should I?” she asked.

“I took the last of the waffles one morning after breakfast, and she wasn’t very forgiving. Rory switched the coffee to decaf and made sure no regular coffee got in the mansion for three days,” he explained.

“Did you learn your lesson Dragon Boy?” she grinned.

Tim rolled his eyes playfully. “Yes dear, I did.” he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

The last two weeks were a little rough for them, after a baby scare they didn’t know what to do. Things were a little off about them, so Tim had decided to take her on a day date one afternoon. They had spent the day walking around Gotham as they hit various tourist stops before he took her to a hotel where he had rented out the penthouse suite for the night and treated her like the queen he thought her to be.

After that night, things were more normal for them. They still kept the PDA on the down-low, but they actively showed their affection for the other in the things they did throughout the day. Rory would pop in every so often with a fresh cup of coffee for Tim and food while he took the time to just relax and talk with her.

Damian faked a gag as Tim kissed her cheek and Rory turned her gaze on the young boy. “You got a problem there Dami?” she asked.

He crossed his arms with a huff. “No, just not a fan of your signs of affection Sonnet.” he snarked.

Rory grinned and raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that so?”

Damian looked at her, not liking the look on her face. Before he could make a run for it Rory quickly got up and wrapped her arms around him hugging Damian close to her chest as she pressed kisses all over his face.

“Help! I’m being held captive against my will!”

No one made a move to save Damian from Rory’s affection, deciding that it was a good character building for him. Rory laughed as Damian tried to squirm out of her arms.

“Unhand me you heathen or you will face my wrath!”

“It’s really hard to take you serious Dami, you never follow through on your threats with me.” she grinned and let Damian go as he wiped all over his face.

“Don’t you ever do that again or I will hide the keys to your bikes from you.” he threatened.

Rory put her hands up in defeat. “Alright, alright. No more love for Damian. But for the record, you touch my keys and I will make sure no one plays Cheese Vikings with you ever again demon spawn. I have that power, and I will use it.”

Damian eyed her warily, Rory’s threats were not to be taken lightly. He knew that she would make sure he never played Cheese Vikings again, so he decided to not poke the bear. “Then don’t kiss me ever again.”

Rory laughed and walked over to her glass case and opened it up, pulling out various items along with her mask and bow, a quiver of arrows filled and ready to go. She and Tim were heading out once he finished his cup so they could try and get more leads with Harley and Ivy and see what their end goal was.

She buckled her belt and pulled her hood over her hair, placing the grey domino mask on her face. The quiver was placed over her shoulder and her bow was strapped to her back. Pulling out her keys, she swung them on her finger as she walked towards her bike.

It had a recent paint job with a trip to the shop to keep it in optimal condition, so it was no longer a plain grey color. It was now black with a sleek shine to it, and a white stripe going down the middle. Rory had wanted to go back to her roots at White Arrow a little bit so she had the white added. But the coolest feature it had was that the wheels lit up, so now it left a light trail as she drove.

Of course, the R&D department of WE had upgraded it with the latest in weaponry so it had a grapple, guns, distress button, faster speed, and a seat-warmer for when winter came around again.

It was mid-June now, and it was definitely staying warm all day and through the night. The thermal lining in her suit had to be removed before she would combust into flames from overheating in the summer nights.

Tim watched as Rory climbed onto her bike, the way she looked while straddling it made him have thoughts that he should not be thinking before he went on patrol. Shaking his head, he tried to get them out of his head but he could not deny that his girlfriend looked hot as she straddled the bike.

He set his mug down and pulled the cowl over his head before heading to his own. It was a similar model to Rory’s but bigger and it had a red stripe instead of a white one like hers.

They bid farewell to those still in the cave and drove off into the night.

_“So, I think we should follow Harley. Ivy seems to always have a way of finding out we are nearby and moves before we catch up, or she almost catches us again. I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be kissed by her again. I don’t think you would be able to fight me off a second time.”_

Red Robin looked over and saw that Grey Arrow was ahead of him by a few feet and chuckled. “Yeah, we weren’t together then. It would be worse now that we are.”

_“Not helping Red.”_

“Sorry. Make a left here, and we’ll park the bikes.”

Grey Arrow did as he said and pulled her bike into the deep area of the alley and turned it off. She heard Red Robin pull up next to her and turn off his bike. She had barely gotten off her before she felt hands grab her waist and pin her to the wall.

Grey Arrow didn’t have a chance to process anything before Red Robin pressed his lips to hers in a feverish kiss. She let out a sigh of content and gripped the yellow straps of his suit, pulling him against her more.

Red Robin pulled away from the kiss and looked down to see Grey Arrow blink slowly, a stunned look on her face. “What was that for Red? Not, that I am complaining or anything but why?”

“I just love you, and think you look hot on your bike.”

Grey Arrow rolled her eyes and pulled out an arrow and shot it to the roof before it pulled her up leaving Red Robin below her. She heard his laughter as he followed her up.

Once both of them were on the roof, they took off for where Harley was supposedly hiding. According to both Grey Arrow’s and Red Robin’s information, she was staying in a rundown apartment that was being used as a home base of sorts.

Ever since Grey Arrow fucked up her knee, Harley had been out for her blood. It had taken weeks, almost three months for her to be able to do her acrobatics again and if she got the chance Harley was going to do worse to her.

Stopping across the street, they saw that Harley was indeed home and was walking around as if she was on the phone or something. Grey Arrow and Red Robin gave each other a nod before they jumped across and landed on the roof of her building. Pulling up the hologram pad on her wrist, Grey Arrow hacked into Harley’s phone and listened to their conversation.

_“Harley, I know you want revenge but you can’t take it before we are ready. The serum is almost done, and soon all of Gotham will be ours to control. Then you will get your chance to get that little bird back for breaking your knee.”_

“I know Red! Geez. Ya keep tellin’ me, besides how much longer will it take for all of it to be ready to use?”

_“I’m not sure, but before the snow sets in for sure. I have to ensure the sample works first before I mass produce it and that will take a while.”_

“Whateva ya say Red, just remember I am your biggest fan and believe in ya!” she laughed.

Grey Arrow and Red Robin looked at each other, was Ivy using the toxic waste to make a serum of some kind? If so, what did it do and why? They listened as Harley ended the call and before she could do anything, they swung into her window and kicked their way in.

Harley jumped back, “Hey! It’s the bird brain and the Arrow-Bat!”

Grey Arrow clenched her jaw. it had been almost six months and she still hated that name. A good chunk of Gotham still called her that even though the press had gotten her vigilante name right.

“Don’t fucking call me that, you sad looking birthday clown.” she snapped.

Red Robin let out a chuckle. “My friend here really hates that name, and unless you want to lose the other knee I suggest you quit calling her that.” he grinned.

Harley looked between the two of them and glared. “Can’t a girl have a quiet night at home with some pizza and a movie without two batshit crazies breaking in?” she snapped.

Grey Arrow raised her bow and grinned, aiming it at Harley. “If you and your friend weren’t trying to poison all of Gotham with some serum then we wouldn’t have broken in and I would be having my own pizza and movie night.”

Red Robin raised his bo staff, “We are only here to talk, out of the two of you you are the one with a better sense of judgment. Ivy’s has always been clouded with plants, the green, and her own jaded thinking.” he said. “I don’t want to fight you, Quinn, so help us out.”

Harley’s eyes shifted between the two of them, a sinister grin spreading across her face. “If you wanted to be friends, then you should not have brought your girlfriend.”

Quickly Harley dove for Grey Arrow and pinned her to the floor before she could let loose an arrow. Grey Arrow raised her elbow and hit her in the face before kicking her back and letting the arrow fly, watching as it split and trapped Harley to the wall.

“You should have taken the good cop’s option when you had the chance.” she grinned. “Because now you are stuck with me and I have some pent up anger I’ve been wanting to let out.”

Harley’s eyes had a small trace of fear behind them. “You won’t let her kill me, right bird boy? You bat brats have that no killing rule!”

Red Robin shrugged. “I’m sorry, but there is only so much I can control. She is a bit of a loose cannon, I can’t tell her what to do.” he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Calling her Arrow-Bat was a bad move, Quinn.”

“Besides, I’m not going to kill you. But I do believe I owe Ivy for that kiss and Joker for that month we spent together, so I suggest you start talking before I make you.”

Harley gulped and watched as Grey Arrow took one of her arrows out and pointed it at her chin. “What are you and Ivy planning with that serum she is creating?” she asked.

“No way! I’m not fucking telling you!”

Grey Arrow frowned and kicked the knee that she had hit with the baseball bat before. There was a sickening crack as Harley cried out in pain.

“You bitch! Ya busted my knee again!”

“I’ll take out the other unless you start talking, or I could use this little thing to leave a message.” she twirled the arrow in her fingers as Harley watched with wide eyes, starting to squirm in the cord that held her tight to the rope.

“I’m only asking this once more, what are you planning with the serum?”

Harley stayed quiet, debating on what the lesser of two evils were. On one hand, she had her best friend who was homicidal and on the other, there was an angry and extremely violent vigilante threatening to take out another knee at least if she didn’t talk.

Grey Arrow was about to land another punch to her other knee before Harley stopped her. “Alright! I’ll talk! Ivy wants to enslave the men of the city because they are all giant sleazeballs that need to be put into their place.”

At this, Red Robin pushed himself off the wall and walked over. “What does Cobblepott have to do with this?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I swear. Ivy just had me grabbing the goo from Mistah J so she could use it.”

Red Robin and Grey Arrow looked at each other as he gave her a nod. With the end of her bow, she snapped the wire holding Harley to the wall as the two of them walked towards the window and waved goodbye before jumping out it and into the warm night air.

They had wanted to get a ways away for they spoke about what they had learned, just in case. Stopping on a roof at the corner of fourth street, they sat on the edge and swung their feet. Grey Arrow took Red Robin’s hand and held it tightly.

She slowly took her mask off, the black make-up still over her eyes as Tim pulled the cowl back off his head. The building they were on was high enough that no one would see their faces, and it felt nice to have it off for once. Rory closed her eyes and breathed in the night air with a content sigh.

“Hey, want me to make a run to Bat Burger? Get some food in while we talk over the new information?” Tim asked, looking at his girlfriend.

Rory’s hood was off, and her hair was blowing in the wind cascading across her face as she leaned back slowly. Tim smiled watching her, she was beautiful even with the dark make-up there. It made the whites of her eyes stand out more, as her dark eyes looked around the lively city.

She turned to look at him and gave Tim a playful smile. “Why, do you want to go bug them for a Red Robin toy?” she teased.

Tim’s face went red, as he turned and looked down. “Maybe.”

Rory let out a chuckled and kissed his cheek. “Go ahead, maybe ask for a Grey Arrow toy?” she winked as the two of them stood up. Tim pulled her against him and placed a kiss on her lips, taking her hands in his. Rory had taken the ring off before patrol, not many people wore a black diamond and didn’t want to risk anything with it.

He pulled back with a goofy smile on his face. “How did I get so lucky? My girlfriend is so fucking beautiful and a total badass that I can’t believe that I get to call her mine.”

Rory chuckled and pulled him in for another kiss. “Let’s wrap this up so you can take me home and really show me how much I’m yours.” she grinned at the shocked look on his face. Tim’s jaw dropped and she watched his eyes darken before he quickly pulled the cowl back over his head, placing a kiss on her forehead before taking off.

As she watched him grapple away, Rory pulled her hood up and placed her mask on her face once more. It was barely back on her face before she heard a noise behind her.

It was the sound of something being fired, so she quickly rolled to the side and pulled out an arrow coming face to face with the man from her nightmares, Slade Wilson.

Her eyes narrowed at him, her aim not straying from his heart. Any sign of movement and she would shoot to kill. “Slade, what the hell are you doing here?” she snapped.

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out yet White Arrow.” he taunted. “Or, you already know and are just playing dumb so I will talk?”

She watched as his hand rested the bow on his back and pulled out his sword. “What the hell are you doing in Gotham!?” she growled.

Slade grinned under his mask, he had barely said a sentence to her and he was under her skin already. “Aurora Sonnet, you really have grown since I saw you last. What was that, two years ago now when I destroyed you and everything you stood for?”

“You don’t get to call me that Deathstroke, you are the reason I’m Aurora Queen and the reason I was kidnapped and tortured by the Joker. Don’t think you are getting forgiveness for either any time soon.” Slade had successfully taken everything away from her once before, and she would be damned if she let it happen again.

Slade walked around her, his eyes not leaving the arrow she was aiming at his chest. He had asked the Joker to have fun with her so he could break her further, and it had worked. As he watched Rory since then, she had slowly descended into the darkness of her mind. Her actions got more violent, her threats were brutal and what he had witnessed earlier with Harley was proof of it.

“I don’t want forgiveness, I want you dead.” He held his sword up and charged at Rory.

She shot the arrow, barely missing his neck, and held her bow up to block his sword from slashing down her chest. Rory knew from experience that his sword could cut through her suit, she had the scars to prove it.

Using her raised arms to his advantage, he quickly pulled his sword back and sliced her on the thigh making her cry out in pain. Using her other leg, she swung around to kick him in the head barely missing as he leaned back and sliced her other thigh.

The cuts were not too deep, but they had cut the arteries in her legs and she could feel the pain as she fell to her knees. Looking up, she saw Slade standing above her as he removed his helmet.

Rory glared as she saw the grin upon his face, in a matter of seconds he had gotten her on her knees in front of him, unable to stand and fight back. Her chest heaved with anger, and her eyes blazing with hatred. Through all the bad things in her life, there was no one she hated more than Slade Wilson.

“This is where you belong Aurora Sonnet, on your knees at my mercy. This was so much easier than the first time, where is that fire you had all those years ago? Did it die that day with that family you killed?”

Rory’s blood boiled, to this day that was her greatest mistake. “Don’t you fucking talk about them, it was your fault,” she growled, shaking her head Rory tried to keep herself awake as the blood oozed out of her thighs.

Slade leaned down and pulled the mask off her face, and yanked the hood back. “I want to see the look on your face as I kill you.” he used the sword to tilt her chin up. One swift move and he could slit her throat and end her life right there, but this man was an assassin. He wanted to see her suffer, and those around her.

That was why, when he noticed one of the others arriving, he pulled his sword back and ran her through. Rory didn’t get a sound out before she began choking on her blood, gripping the sword knowing that if he pulled it out she would be racing against the clock to survive.

Her hands were cut open as she tried to fight Slade as he pulled it out of her, stained red with her blood. With the sword out of her, Rory’s vision went blurry and her body went numb. She could no longer feel her legs as she collapsed to her side, bleeding out onto the concrete roof.

She watched as Slade put his helmet back on. “If you live through this one, I’ll be back and it’ll be much worse.” he took off and disappeared off the roof as she heard someone yell her name as they approached. The last thing she saw was the scared look on Tim’s face as everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I hurt her again. I'd say I'm sorry, but this is important to the story for reasons other than just hurting her.


	39. Chapter Thirty-Eight

Tim was on his way back from Bat Burger, it had taken him longer than usual because normally when they saw him coming there was a bag with his usual meal and a slip to request a toy all ready to go. The workers there had gotten used to their antics and knew what they ate and that each time they would request a toy after them. When he told them that he was picking up for a friend too, they were a little shocked but gladly made another to go.

He had let slip that there should be a Grey Arrow toy and that she was too proud to ask them to do it herself. It made the workers laugh as they told him they would consider it.

He had grappled through third street and was on his way to the roof he left Rory over on fourth when he saw that she wasn’t alone on the rooftop. As he got closer, he recognized the signature orange and black helmet and urged his feet to go faster.

Before his eyes, he saw as Rory tried to put up a fight only to be taken down in seconds. Tim had yet to see her lose a fight, that wasn’t training with Cass and he wasn’t ready for it. He was still a few rooftops away when he watched Slade raise his sword and stabbed her, the blade poking out from the other side of Rory’s body.

Tim stopped dead in his tracks, the bags of food falling from his hands. He watched in horror as he removed the sword from her, Rory trying to stop him when his feet began working again.

“Rory!”

Slade looked up and disappeared from sight, and Tim rolled onto the roof sliding next to Rory’s limp body. He pulled his cowl off, hot tears falling from his eyes as he pulled her onto his lap. Rory was losing a lot of blood and she was losing it fast. He took her chin and turned her to look at him as she spurted blood from her lips and watched as she lost consciousness.

Not wasting a second, he tore the cape off his back and pressed it to her stomach to try and stop the bleeding, quickly losing his composure.

“Rory, please wake up.” he sobbed. “Open your eyes and look at me sweetheart, please.”

His hands and lap were quickly covered in her blood and pressed the comm in his ear. “Somebody, please! Rory she-she’s hurt and losing too much blood.”

Immediately, Bruce’s voice sounded through the link. _“What happened, Tim?”_

“I-I don’t know, I went to go get food and I c-come back to see her fighting Deathstroke and he-” Tim could get the rest of his sentence out, his voice caught in sobs as he watched Rory’s life slowly slip away. “She won’t make it back to the cave, I’m not even sure she will make it to a hospital.”

_“Tim, you need to breathe. If you start losing it, then we will lose her for sure. Start for the hospital and one of the others will meet you on the way. Remember, keep your and her identity secret until you get to the doctor. Dick is giving him a call as we speak.”_

Tim placed the mask back on her face, his hands trembling as he wrapped her in his cape. Rory had gone deathly pale, and her breathing was slowing. “No offense, but I don’t give a fuck about identities right now Bruce.” he snapped pulling the cowl over his head, picking Rory up and running across the rooftops.

He tried to keep the tears at bay as he grappled across the city towards the hospital, one wrong move and it would kill them both. Jason and Dick had told him that they were waiting for him outside the back entrance to the hospital that was reserved for the vigilantes when they needed it.

Dropping down, they both ran over their faces losing color at the sight of Rory. She looked dead in Tim’s arms, they were scared she already was if they didn’t notice the slight rise and fall of her chest. Jason took Rory’s limp body in his arms and ran her inside as Dick tried to console a hysteric Tim.

“Richard Grayson, get the fuck out of my way.” he snapped, trying to get past him.

“Tim, you need to calm down before I let you in.” Dick tried reasoning.

“Calm down?! I just watched her get stabbed and you’re telling me to calm down!?” He tried pushing past him, Dick wrapping his arms around him to keep him in place.

“She needs me! I can’t leave her!” Tim tried fighting out of his hold, he needed to get to Rory to see if he made it in time. The thought of her slipping away while he was stuck outside was killing him, he had to be there.

Tim slowly lost the fight in him, and slumped against Dick’s arms and let the cries out. Dick held him close to his chest, comforting Tim as he cried begging and pleading that she would be okay.

The door in front of them opened and out came Steph, she had tears in her eyes. “Jason got her to surgery, they’re working on her now. I brought clothes for Tim, let’s get him inside and cleaned up.”

Dick gave her a nod and helped his little brother to his feet and led him through the door and toward a bathroom. Jason, Damian, Alfred, and Bruce were waiting there for them, concerned at the state Tim was in. He looked devastated, the light in his eyes was gone as Dick took the clothes Damian was holding and helped him in with Jason and Damian right behind.

Bruce went to follow his sons when Alfred placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Let them take care of him, Master Bruce, Master Tim needs his brothers. Let him come to you when he is ready.”

Bruce looked at his butler and nodded slowly. “You’re right Alfred, let’s go sit with the others and check on them.”

Alfred gave him a nod of approval and followed Bruce as they sat with Cass, Steph, and Babs who were in the waiting room.

Damian was the last in the bathroom and he locked the door behind him, not wanting any intruders interrupting them. Dick had Tim at the sink with his cowl off, the naturally bright look he had was gone. His eyes had almost gone a dull grey and it worried him to see Tim this way.

Tim had gotten a look at himself in the mirror, it looked like he had walked out of a horror movie. He was covered in blood; so much blood that his stomach turned at the thought of how much Rory had left in her. His face had smears across it, the thick substance dried to his skin.

Dick had grabbed a paper towel and started to wipe the dried blood off his face slowly. Tim stayed quiet the whole time, not sure what to say anymore. The scene of Rory slumping over as Slade stood above her wouldn’t leave his mind.

His hands gripped the sink so tight, his knuckles were in pain and he swore that he heard a crack. Jason and Damian stood off to the side, they were unsure of what to do but the one thing they did know was that Tim needed them with him even if it was in silent support.

Dick finished wiping the blood off his face and gave Tim a sad look. “Alright, we need to get the suit off you. Do you need help getting it off?”

Tim’s eyes glanced over at Dick and nodded slowly. This was when Jason and Damian stepped forward as Tim discarded the suit the two of them picked up the pieces and placed them in a trash bag to get back to the manor so it can get cleaned.

His chest still had blood on him, it had seeped through his suit as he held Rory in his arms and Tim felt sick. Quickly he turned and vomited into the toilet, whimpering as his body heaved the contents of his stomach out of him. Jason walked over and sat next to Tim, on the floor holding a rag and the clean clothes.

“Come on babybird, let’s get you into some clothes okay?”

Tim nodded and took the rag, wiping the rest of the blood off of him before taking the shirt from Jason and pulling it over his body. Dick and Damian both took his hands and pulled him to his feet so he could get the sweats on. His legs were shaking under him, so he leaned against Jason as he pulled them on.

Looking in the mirror again, he looked better than he did but his eyes were still dull. “Was there any news?” he asked, speaking for the first time since he stepped into the building.

“She’s in surgery, and we’ll get the updates as they happen,” Jason explained.

Tim nodded as he pulled on the shoes and ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s head over then.” The other three nodded and led Tim out of the bathroom and towards the waiting room where the others were waiting for them.

Walking in, Tim saw that the whole family was there along with Roy and Jesse. They had stayed in Gotham, wanting to have some time for themselves and be close to Rory in case she needed them again. The two of them were sat in a corner, Roy’s face was red with tears as Jesse held him and tried to comfort him.

Hearing the boys come in, they all looked up and Steph got up and ran over to Tim and pulled him into a tight embrace. “Are you alright, Tim?” she asked.

Tim wrapped his arms around her and shook his head, “Not really Steph…” he muttered.

She pulled out pf the hug and looked at him, worry written all over her face. “Everything is going okay so far, Rory is alive. You got her here in time.”

Tim looked around, he wanted to see Rory but he knew that it was impossible while she was in surgery. Bruce stood up from his seat and walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Tim, why don’t you come and sit? We’ll get you a cup of coffee and all of us will wait here with you okay?”

He looked up at his adoptive father and hugged him tightly. Bruce looked a little surprised at his action as he wrapped his arms around his son and held him tight as Tim cried into his shirt. He rubbed his back as he held Tim close to himself.

“I wasn’t there to stop him… I promised that I would protect her and I failed Bruce.” he sobbed.

“Tim, you didn’t fail her. Rory is still alive because of you, you brought her here and she is being taken care of as we speak.” Bruce comforted. Tim looked up at him as he wiped his eyes.

“Thanks, Bruce,” he said softly.

He looked down at him and smiled at him. “Of course, son.”

He led Tim to an open seat as Cass came over with a large cup of coffee. “Do you want to talk about what happened?” she asked softly.

At her words, Roy and Jesse looked up. He knew for sure that they would want to know what had happened. With a sigh, Tim inhaled the scent of his coffee and felt himself relax softly.

“It was Deathstroke, I don’t know what happened but when she came into view I noticed that she wasn’t alone. Upon closer inspection, I noticed who it was. It didn’t matter how fast I ran, I didn’t get there quick enough before he took her down and stabbed her with his sword.”

As he explained it, the memory flashed in his mind again and his hands began to shake once more. Dick noticed and took the cup from his hands before kneeling in front of him. “Tim, look at me.”

His eyes rose up from the ground and looked to Dick. “It’s okay, you don’t need to tell us anymore. Why don’t you get some rest, we’ll all be right here listening for news.”

Tim wanted to fight, but he had spent all of his energy fighting Dick and worrying about Rory that he just simply gave him a nod and leaned his head on Steph’s shoulder and instantly fell asleep.

As Tim slept, everyone kept an ear out for anything related to Rory. It was about three hours after Tim had fallen asleep that a nurse walked in and looked around.

“I am looking for Mister Wayne?” she asked.

Bruce sat up, his suit jacket was draped across Tim’s body as he and Steph slept quietly. Quietly, he stood and walked over. “That would be me, how is she?”

Those who were still awake, Roy, Jason, and Damian, watched listening for anything.

“Miss Queen is alive, the operation was successful. She lost a lot of blood, so we are going to need to keep her here for further observation until she recovers enough that she can go home with you. You were very lucky this time, we almost lost her.” the nurse explained.

Quickly Roy stood up and walked over. “When can we see her?” he asked.

“She is being transferred to a room as we speak, within the next hour you will be able to go in and sit with her but she will probably sleep for a while.

Bruce nodded at her words. "Thank you, and tell the doctor I said thank you as well.” he smiled.

The nurse blushed a little and nodded. “Yes sir, have a good night,” she called and walked back through the door.

With Roy’s sudden movement, Jesse had woken up and stood next to Roy and took his hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Anything new babe?” he asked.

“Rory’s out of surgery, we’ll be able to see her soon,” Roy muttered. Jesse sighed and pulled Roy back over to their chairs.

“Now that you know she is okay, get some rest Roy.” he pushed Roy onto the chair and grabbed his jacket, and propped it behind his head. Almost the second his head rested on the jacket Roy was out like a light.

Jason watched the interaction between Bruce and the Nurse with Damian sat at his feet playing a game on his phone. “So when we can go back, are we going to wake him, or do you want me to take him home?”

Bruce shook his head. “No, you and I both know that he will be better off seeing her first before even bringing up the thought of going back to the manor. What you can do is get the other’s back, maybe make them sleep. I’ll stay here with Tim, Roy, and Jesse. Those two are not technically mine, so I can’t make them do anything.”

Jason huffed a laugh at his words “You can’t make me do anything B, but I can usher them back to the manor.”

Bruce rolled his eyes with a light chuckle. “You never did anything I told you to begin with.”

Jason flashed him a grin before poking Dick awake and informing him of the situation. He agreed with a yawn and started to wake the others slowly, making sure that they didn’t wake Tim in the process.

Jason had to literally carry Steph out of the room, she was so tired as Dick followed with Cass and Damian at his side. Barbara had gone home hours ago, she had her dad pick her up explaining that Rory had an accident and she was there to support the others with Alfred following behind.

Bruce watched as they left, his eyes glancing over at Tim who was still asleep and curled up with his suit jacket. It had been another hour before the nurse returned, offering to escort them to her room. Bruce gave her a nod before he gently shook Tim awake.

Tim jumped, the jacket sliding off his torso as he looked around. “Where’s Rory? How is she? Is she okay?” he asked quickly.

Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder, picking up the jacket. “She got out of surgery an hour ago, the nurse is ready to take us to her room. Come on.” He helped Tim to his feet and grabbed the cup of coffee that was still slightly warm.

The four of them followed the nurse down the halls towards the room they had set aside for Rory. It was the last door on the right on the fourth floor, and she slowly opened the door. Tim was frozen in place, scared of what he would see on the other side. He knew her injures were bad, but that didn’t stop the fear creep up into his heart.

Roy looked and saw the look on Tim’s face. “Come on kiddo, we’ll go in together.” Tim looked at Roy and gave him a grateful smile.

“Thanks, Roy.”

The two of them took a deep breath as they walked into the room. Tim’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of Rory in the hospital bed. She had IVs in both arms filled with saline water and blood with an oxygen tube in her nose. His eyes filled with tears, Rory looked so fragile like this.

Rory was anything but fragile, and she would kick his ass if she ever knew he thought that. Roy had a similar reaction. Jesse walked in and took Roy’s hand as Tim walked in further and took a seat next to the bed. Bruce stood and watched from the doorway as his son took Rory’s hand and ran his thumb across the cold skin.

“I’m sorry…” he cried softly, unable to stop the tears from falling. “I didn’t keep my promise, but I swear that I will be here for you every day.” Tim wiped the tears, not letting go of her hand. He could feel her pulse faintly under his fingers and it told him that she was alive but not by much.

He had so many things he wanted to do with her, and this night made him realize that he could lose Rory in the blink of an eye. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, have a family with her amongst many other things like going back to France, and taking her to see his favorite places around the world.

He placed a soft kiss on her hand, not daring to let go in case she disappeared right out from under his fingers.


	40. Chapter Thirty-Nine

Rory opened her eyes and all she saw was white. Squinting from the bright color, she could see that it was a ceiling she was looking at and not the bright lights of heaven. That must mean that Slade didn’t kill her as he had hoped to. She blinked multiple times, trying to get her eyes adjusted to the fluorescent light in the room.

Looking around, Rory quickly noticed that she was in a hospital room and there were vases of daisies everywhere. There was an IV in her left arm pushing fluids into her body and a tube in her nose. With a groan of disgust, she took the plastic tubing off of her face deciding that she should leave the needle in her arm. The nurses could force one back in her and that was a fight for another day.

The white daisies that covered her room were gorgeous, and it made her smile. There was a groan to her left, looking in that direction Rory saw three people there asleep. The person who sat closest to the door was Roy, from what it looked like he had been asleep for a long time. Next to Roy was Oliver, his arm was wrapped around Roy as he leaned on Oliver’s shoulder for support. Rory smiled at the fight of her family there together.

The third person was sat closest to her bed, and she noticed that he was holding her hand in his sleep. Tim Drake was passed out in his chair in a position that did not look comfortable. He had bags under his eyes and looked pale. Rory worried when the last time he slept and ate was and was going to kick his ass for it later.

She squeezed his hand softly, making Tim smile in his sleep, and muttered her name. Rory decided that it was best she didn’t wake him, Tim needed the sleep so she laid in the bed and watched him sleep as she traced circles on his hand with her thumb. It was about an hour after she woke that Roy finally stirred, waking Oliver in the process.

Roy’s eyes met hers and he had to blink away the sleep to make sure what he was looking at was real. Rory smiled at him and waved slightly, making him chuckle. Oliver rolled his eyes with a laugh.

“Nice to see you awake Twinkle Toes.”

Rory rolled her eyes at his comment. “Debating on going back to sleep Harper, seeing your ugly mug might kill me.” she grinned. Roy laughed at her comment, Oliver chuckling beside him.

“Good to see that you didn’t lose your sense of humor, kiddo. How are you feeling?” Oliver asked, standing up so he could sit on the bed next to her legs.

“I feel like I was shishkebabed.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “You were, and you almost died. Tim barely got you here in time, what the hell gave you the idea to fight Slade Rory?” he asked, concerned laced in his tone.

“He was going to kill me, either way, Oli, I would rather go out on my terms and fight than die like a coward,” she answered, her tone firm but her voice shaky.

“You scared the hell out of us Rory, why didn’t you try to run?” Roy asked.

Rory looked away from them, she couldn’t answer that question. It would have been sensible to run away and try to get to someone who could help her, but Slade was an assassin there was a good chance she wouldn’t have lived if she had tried to run.

At her silence, Oliver let out a sigh. “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you are alive and well.”

“I wouldn’t say well, she has a hole through the middle of her,” Roy commented with a laugh. Oliver reached over and whacked him on the head.

“Nice Roy, totally appropriate for a hospital,” he muttered and looked at Tim who was still asleep. “He hasn’t left your side since you arrived, not even Alfred can get him to move. I’d say you have Tim wrapped around your finger kiddo.”

Rory looked back at Tim and smiled fondly at his sleeping figure. She would rather see him like this than how she had seen him last; broken, worried, and on the verge of tears. The memory of seeing Tim like that hurt her, she never wanted to cause that look on his face as well.

Looking at their hands, she noticed that she was wearing the ring he gave her again. Rory remembered taking it off before they left for patrol that night, but he must have brought it and put it back on her. Tim was such a sappy romantic, it was something she loved about him. It didn’t matter how sappy it was, he would do it because he knew that it would make her happy.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” she replied.

“Well, since you’re awake the two of us are going to get food and alert the others. Think you’ll be alright without us here?” he asked, as he pulled Roy to his feet as he was already dialing a number on his phone, no doubt it was Jesse.

Rory gave him a nod, “Yeah, I’ll be okay Oli. Go get something to eat.” she smiled.

Oliver nodded and left with Roy and shut the door. No sooner was the door shut, did she feel Tim squeeze her hand tighter. Looking over, she saw his blue eyes staring back at her with a small smile on his face. “Wrapped around your finger huh?”

Rory huffed and rolled her eyes. “How long were you awake?” she asked.

“When I heard them talking, I decided it wasn’t the time to interrupt. Besides, they wouldn’t have left so I could do this.”

Rory looked at him confused before she felt his lips on hers. Tim’s free hand cupped her face softly, brushing the loose hair out of her face as her skin tingled at his touch. Rory cupped his jaw as she held him close to her, tracing his jawline with her forefinger, making him shiver under her touch. Tim would have kissed her longer if Rory’s heart rate didn’t pick up and almost make the matching go off.

He pulled away with a slight chuckle and smiled down at her, holding her hand still. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Rory nodded, not taking her eyes off of him. Tim’s eyes were a darker blue than they used to be, but could that be from the lack of sleep or his general worry? She didn’t know, but what she did know was that the more he looked at her, the brighter they became. Carefully she leaned up and pecked his lips once more.

“I’m okay Timmy, thanks to you,” she said softly, watching as he pulled the chair closer so he could be closer to her.

“Rory, you could have died because of me. I wasn’t there to protect you like I promised. Instead, I went to go get food and left you alone.” he sighed, bringing her hand up to kiss it softly.

“Tim, none of this was your fault. Just because you left me alone did not mean that I was vulnerable, I did that to myself. I let my emotions cloud my judgment and I flubbed my attacks and he got the best of me. It was his fault I almost died, not mine, not yours, his and his alone.” she explained.

Tim let out a sigh. “You have no idea how scared I was, I thought I lost you, Rory. Your skin was so cold and you looked lifeless in my arms as I carried you. I was covered in your blood, you had lost so much of it. Hell, you had Jason and Damian scared and those two are some of the most fearless people I know. I’m not letting you out of my sight again Aurora Queen, you are stuck with me.”

Rory watched him as he spoke, she could see the fear in his eyes as he recounted how scared he was and his hand began to shake slightly in hers. “We’re partners Tim, nothing is going to take me away from you. Not Ivy, Harley, Penguin, Joker, Deathstroke, and whoever else wants me dead. We’re going to fight together until the very end, and I’ll be damned if someone takes me away from you.”

“You are stuck with me for life Timothy Drake, so you better get used to me being around.” she smiled.

Tim smiled softly at her words. “You make it sound like a bad thing, Songbird.” he glanced back at the door before looking at her again. “How long do you think it will take the others to come and see you?”

Rory opened her mouth to speak but the door was swung open and in walked Jason, Steph, Roy, Jesse, and Dick all carrying bouquets of daisies and trying to push the others out of the way, wanting to be the first ones in the room to see her.

“Though she be but little, she is fierce!” Jason cried as he entered the room and placed the flowers on the bedside table, making everyone in the room roll their eyes at his antics.

“Seriously princess? A Midsummer’s Night Dream?” she asked, raising a brow at him.

Jason flashed her a huge grin, leaning against the wall watching the others file in. “Oh but you missed me, Rory, admit it.”

“How can I miss something if I was asleep?” she asked.

“Leave him be, Jason is letting out all the dramatics he stored up internally. None of us puts up with his dramatic ass but you apparently so, be prepared for all the quotes that come with his royal highness the drama queen of Gotham City.” Roy chuckled, making the others with him laugh.

“Please no, I need my ears and don’t want them bleeding,” Tim mumbled. No one heard it but Rory and Jason, Rory tried her hardest to keep her laughter in as Jason only glared daggers at him.

“Watch your back replacement, you never know when you might take a one way trip of Gotham Tower.”

Steph pushed her way through all the boys and sat next to Tim who was engaged with an argument over whether or not Shakespeare was actually that good or just overhyped. “Missed having you around Rory, things got boring quick with Tim here all the time and the others working nonstop to find Slade.”

“How long was I out Steph?” she asked, worried about the answer.

“About a week? Originally, the first day was from the surgery but the doc insisted that we keep you asleep for a while longer so you didn’t risk ripping the stitches open and getting as much blood as they could back into you,” she explained. “You had us all scared for a while there, no one was sure that you were going to make it out.”

She had mumbled the last part, it was never easy admitting your fears to someone even if they were your best friend. Rory smiled at her friend softly. “Don’t worry, it’s going to take a lot more than a psychotic clown and an assassin to kill me.” she chuckled softly.

The two girls tuned back into Jason and Tim’s argument, watching with amusement as the two of them got heated and Jason put Tim in a headlock, holding him in place with a laugh and rubbed his knuckles into his hair roughly.

Rory caught a glimpse of Tim’s face, it was a mixture of pain and embarrassment. She couldn’t hold back her laughter seeing his face, quickly letting a cry of pain out and gripped her stomach. Immediately, everyone stopped and looked at her the room going silent.

Tim pulled himself out of Jason’s hold and quickly walked over. “Everything okay Songbird?” he asked.

Rory gave him a nod. “Yeah, just laughed too hard and it hurt.”

The door opened and in walked Bruce, with Oliver at his side. “Good to see you awake Rory. How are you feeling?”

“Your kids are idiots Bruce, they are going to make me laugh so hard I split my stitches,” she said, leaning back into her pillows softly.

“Well, they had to learn it from somewhere Rory.” Oliver grinned and bumped Bruce on the shoulder with a laugh, earning a small chuckle from Bruce. “Anyway, we need to talk about what happened that night.”

“We need full details, Tim was only able to give us half of the information,” Bruce added and sipped the drink in his hand.

Rory let out a sigh and dropped her head. “It’s not going to make sense until I tell you the full story of what happened two years ago, what had started all of this.”

Oliver, Roy, and Jesse all shared a look. They knew that it was a hard night for her to talk about, Rory seldom mentioned it but she was right. With the past coming back to haunt her, Bruce and the others needed to know the full details.

Tim gripped her hand softly and gave her an encouraging look. Not even he knew everything about that night, and his reaction was the one she was avoiding the most. “It started on the final day of July, the 31st. It was a hot and humid night with the Pacific winds coming in from the west.”

_“Come on Green! We’re losing him!” she called. White Arrow ran across the rooftops_ _trying to keep up with the masked villain. With White Arrow being younger and smaller, she was able to move faster than the Green Arrow. Jumping off, she landed on the man they were chasing and sent them both to the floor._

_Rolling off her opponent, she landed on her knees and pulled out her bow, and aimed an arrow at him._

_The man was heavily armed, almost like he was military. The suit was a combination of orange and black and he was armed to the teeth. The interesting thing about him was that he was very precise, he never did anything without severe calculation._

_Lucky for her, The White Arrow was trained the same._

_The man stood up and eyed his opponent, it was just a simple girl. Who knew that The Green Arrow had taken on another protégé? From the looks of her, she was still young no older than 20 but no younger than 18._

_“Who are you and why are you in my city?” she demanded._

_Deathstroke laughed. “Your city? If I recall, this city belonged to The Green Arrow.”_

_“His jurisdiction falls to me as well, now answer my questions. Who are you and why are you here?” she demanded once again, tightening the grip on her bow._

_“What are you going to fight me?” he asked, standing to meet his full height towering over the girl. He pulled his sword out of the sheath on his back and swung it in his hand._

_“If that’s what it takes, then I will,” she said, rising to her feet her eyes not moving away and her bow still trained on him._

_“White, do not engage this man alone!” Green Arrow said through his com. “I repeat, do not engage!”_

_White Arrow ignored him. “I have him in my sights Green, I’m not going to let him get away.”_

_The man in front of her took off his helmet to reveal dark eyes that bore into hers with a large grin across his aged face. “You should really listen to your mentor, Oliver is right after all.” He then launched himself at the girl, with his sword raised ready to strike her down._

_White Arrow raised her bow and blocked his attack, and used her right leg to kick him back. The man had barely seen her leg in time before he jumped and flipped back away from her. Quickly she pulled out explosive arrows and fired them at the mysterious man, hoping to bring him down but he was too quick._

_She decided to switch to her concussive arrows, and aimed in front of him only for the man to not be phased by them either. White Arrow was starting to get irritated, so she launched a tripwire and then fired multiple arrows at him as he ran across a rooftop. The man tripped on a wire and tumbled onto the next roof with White Arrow right behind him._

_When he looked up, he saw her standing above him three arrows aimed right at him. “Little Aurora Sonnet, or should I say Queen now? You’re a lot bigger than the last time I saw you.” he grinned._

_Her grip on her bow tightened. “Who the hell are you, and how do you know who I am?” she snapped._

_The grin on his face only got bigger. “Because I’m the one who killed your parents.”_

_Her eyes widened at his words before her gaze hardened. “You liar! Tell me the truth!” she snarled._

_“It is the truth, Michael and Clara Sonnet were my targets. I was paid to kill them, so I blew up the building they were in. Of course, I knew you were there too, I watched as you found their lifeless bodies crushed under the rubble and as The Green Arrow and Black Canary comforted you and took you in. It was only a matter of time before you would follow in their footsteps and here you are. All grown up, and fighting crime.”_

_White Arrow’s heart quickened its pace, hearing how this man killed her parents made her ears ring and her blood go cold as she remembered what it was like at that moment. To this day, it had remained as the worst day in her life and it was not one she would soon forget. White Arrow fell to her knees, her grip faltering, and the bow and arrows clattering to the floor._

_What did her parents do that granted them to be murdered by an assassin? Where they even who she thought they were? Michael and Clara were Gothamites through and through and no one truly escaped from the dark clutches the city hung deep in your heart. Where Michael and Clara truly the good people she had thought them to be?  
_

_Slade got to his feet, taking the revelation the girl before him had. “You’re wondering why I killed them aren’t you?” he asked, circling the young girl. “I’ll make it easy for you, Michael and Clara were assassins from the league. They had tried to leave, but no one ever truly leaves the league.”_

_White Arrow’s head snapped up to look at him. “You’re wrong! My parents were good people!”_

_“Your parents were cold-hearted assassins, how do you think they had gained such an amass of wealth? People just don’t become wealthy overnight my dear, your parents killed for their fortune and tried to leave when you came around.”_

_Her gaze followed him as he walked circles around her, White Arrow slowly tightening the grip on her bow._

_“When the head of the league found out, he ordered them to be killed and hired me. Of course, they got wind of this and it’s what made them move to the other side of the country to try and hide from me.” He swung the blade in his hand and held it to her throat._

_“But no one can hide from me.”_

_White Arrow gritted her teeth and rolled away from the sword and kicked it out of his hand. What she hadn’t noticed was that there was a family of three, cowering behind a duct. Slade ducked and rolled out of the way, as she began to fire more arrows._

_She wasn’t paying attention as the arrows flew from her bow, White Arrow was angry. Her whole life had been a lie, her parents only fueling it as she grew up. Nothing was what she had believed it to be, how often were those trips they took because of a mission for the league they had tried to get out of?_

_Her vision was clouded by her anger and confusion, and her actions were violent and driven by deadly precision. This was no longer about stopping him from causing harm, it was about White Arrow getting revenge for the death of her parents._

_Deathstroke had managed to get close to her and kicked her back, sending White Arrow flying across the rooftop and off the edge. Quickly she had caught the edge of the roof and swung herself back up, only to see that he was gone. But what was left in his place shattered her heart._

_Laying in the middle of the roof was a family of three. Two parents and their little boy, dead with their lifeless gaze staring at the sky. Quickly she ran over and took the little boy in her arms, letting out a choked sob as she saw the white arrows stick out of their chests._

_It was then Green Arrow had finally caught up with her, his eyes widening at the sight of his daughter crying over the three dead figures as they stained her white suit red with their blood._

As Rory finished the story, she couldn’t hold back the tears that began to spill from her eyes. Tim’s grip on her hand tightened, he was at a loss for words. What could he say to comfort her about this situation? Rory had killed a family of three because she was so angry and had lost herself in that moment and it had cost her.

But everything made more sense, why Slade wants her dead and why he was able to get under her skin so well. He was present for the moment she regrets most in her life and finding out your parents weren’t who you thought them to be was enough cause to make anyone that angry.

The room was silent, aside from the occasional sniff from Rory. Tim leaned over and wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at him. “How can you look at me like that, knowing what I did that night and what I’ve done since then?” she whispered.

“Rory, I know that’s not you. I see you in a way that you can’t see yourself. You are one of the kindest people I know, and I’ve watched how you changed this last year you’ve spent with us. Rory, you are the farthest thing from a monster and I will spend every waking second reminding you if I need to.”

Bruce watched Tim as he spoke, a small smile spreading across his face. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad father figure after all?

Jason was the next to respond. “Rory, take it from someone who has done worse for less. You are not a monster, if I can come back and these idiots still care for some unknown reason then you are not terrible.” He ruffled her hair, as Rory tried to bat his hand away with a slight laugh.

“Thanks, princess,” she muttered softly. Maybe things weren’t as bad as she thought them to be, looking around she was surrounded by people who cared for her. Family, friends, lovers past and present. Looking to her left, Tim was still smiling softly at her, with that same loving look he always had.

It was then she realized how lucky she was, with Tim at her side she could get through anything life, or Slade could throw at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally found out what happened between Rory and Slade, and it was nothing good. I hope this lived up to the hype!


	41. Chapter Forty

Rory was cooped up in the hospital for two weeks, she wasn’t allowed to leave until the stitches were almost fully healed and there was no risk of her possibly ripping them just by walking. She hated the fact that she was stuck in the hospital, but Tim almost never left her side and it made it bearable. He did everything he could to make her more comfortable and even brought her favorite movie.

Once she left the hospital, Tim still didn’t leave her side. Ever since Rory told them the story of what happened that night, her nightmares began to resurface nightly. Tim had made it a personal mission to stay with her every night and be there when she woke up screaming and covered in sweat. This was another one of those nights.

Tim was working on the case when he felt Rory stir beside him, he immediately stopped what he was doing and gave her his full attention. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her awake. Rory was a light sleeper these days, so she shot up in bed with a whimper and gripped her stomach where her wound was.

Quickly Tim pulled her into his lap and held her close. “I’ve got you, baby, I’m not letting go,” he said into her hair, holding her as she calmed down from her nightmare.

It was the same thing every night, she would fight Slade and every night she would lose and still kill that family. Rory’s eyes were filled with tears as she curled up in Tim’s arms trying to calm herself down. Her throat was dry and her hands were shaking. The lack of sleep was taking its toll on her, Rory’s eyes were dull and there were bags under them. It didn’t matter what anyone did, she couldn’t sleep. Not even the warm milk from Jason worked anymore.

Slowly her breathing began to even out and she could hear Tim’s heartbeat as she laid her head on his chest. “You don’t have to stay with me you know?” she whispered softly, her voice hoarse from her dry throat.

Tim shook his head. “I want to stay with you Briar Rose, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t comfort my girl when she had bad dreams?” he asked, looking down at her.

Rory looked up and her eyes met his, they seemed to shine in the darkness like the stars in the clear night sky. She gave him a grateful smile and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you, Tim, I know I don’t say it all that often but I really do love you.”

Tim brushed her hair back and cupped her cheek. “There is no law saying that you have to tell me a certain amount, I know you love me. You don’t have to tell me for me to see it, I see it in the way you look at me. I see it in your smile every time I kiss you, I even see it in your laughter when you laugh at my corny jokes. Don’t you ever feel like you have to tell me you love me, I would never put that pressure on you.”

Rory stared at him as he spoke, Tim always seemed to know exactly what it was that she needed to hear. No matter what it was, he always said the right thing like it was a secret superpower of his.

Tim looked confused, Rory was just sitting there and staring at him not saying anything. “What? Did I say the wrong thing?” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I have a habit of doing that sometimes.” he blushed.

Rory covered her mouth to hide her giggle. “No, instead you did the exact opposite. You are absolutely perfect Timothy Drake, don’t let anyone tell you differently. I might have to kick their ass for it.”

Tim chuckled at her words and kissed her softly. “My hero.”

“Well, someone has to keep your ass out of trouble.” she grinned softly and curled into his chest and took his hand. Tim ran his fingers through her hair as she played with his other hand, feeling the rough callouses of his fingers under her touch. Tim’s hands were bigger than hers and there was evidence to show that he used them a lot when he was out fighting crime. But he still had a gentleness to his touch, especially when he was touching her.

He always kept it light, not wanting to hurt her like she was made of porcelain. Even between the sheets, his hands were soft and gentle like he was worried that if he wasn’t careful he would hurt her. There was always a hidden roughness to Tim, but that never showed unless he was angry or jealous but even then his actions were calculated.

Dick had told her that Tim was probably the smartest of the bunch, and could surpass Bruce one day if he kept working at it. Rory could see Tim becoming the greatest detective in the world one day, and she wanted to be with him every step of the way.

Carefully, she pulled his hand to her lips and kissed it softly. Tim blushed and tried to hide it. “I can hear the blush on you Dragon Boy, you don’t need to hide it.” she giggled. Tim had succeeded in lifting her mood, he just needed to be with her and be himself.

“Shouldn’t I be the one making you blush?’ he asked, dropping his hands to her waist and sliding them under the fabric of her top wanting to feel the smoothness of her skin.

Rory leaned into his hands. "It’s a two-way street here handsome, you better get used to it.” she chuckled.

Tim rolled his eyes and kissed her lips once more, tracing circles on her sides. Rory’s amount of movement was limited still. The outside skin may be healed, but the inside still needed to heal before she did anything extreme. Every day, they would take turns in slowly helping her warm up so she could get back into action.

Dick would help her stretch out, trying to keep her as limber as she could be and get her body used to it again. Between Jason and Cass, they kept her sparring skills up to par. Damian kept her weapon skills intact, and Steph made sure that she didn’t overdo herself. Tim was normally around for emotional support, it was hard to watch Rory get frustrated when she couldn’t pull back her bow because her wound would hurt or when she flubbed a hit because she got winded.

Every once in awhile Tim would work with her on everything, but that normally ended with them on the mat not training at all.

Pulling back from the kiss, he could see the sleep trying to take over her body once more. “You should try and get some more sleep, Briar Rose,” he whispered, kissing her nose.

Rory blushed and batted him away. “Only if you try to sleep as well.”

Tim raised a brow at her. “What kind of bargain is that?” he chuckled.

“A smart one, you want me to sleep? Well, you need to get some sleep as well.”

Tim rolled his eyes, there was no way he was going to win this fight. Not when Rory looked this cute and adorable while she was half asleep. With a sigh, he set his laptop aside and pulled back the covers, and climbed in with her, pulling Rory against his chest.

She curled into him with a smile, trying to hide the triumphant grin on her face. Tim kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, “I love you Rory.” he muttered.

“I love you too, Tim,” she whispered and both of them fell asleep curled into each other’s arms.

The next day, Tim decided that he and Rory needed to get out of the manor and take a walk through the city. There were a few places he still wanted to show her but didn’t get the chance before everything started to pick up and then she was stabbed. That put a little bit of a damper on things, but none the less today was the day and nothing was going to ruin it.

He had asked Steph to help her dress sensibly, knowing Rory she would try to leave the house in sweats and jacket. Not that he didn’t think she was cute, but the girls would have his head for letting Rory out of the house looking like that.

Tim was waiting down in the kitchen with Jason and Dick who were munching down on cookies Alfred had just baked. “So, where are you two love birds going?” Jason asked, shoving another cookie in his already full mouth.

“Around.” was all Tim said.

Both Dick and Jason gave him a look. “Really babybird? You aren’t telling us anything?” Dick asked.

Tim shook his head. “No, because I know at least one of you would try to follow us. This is a day for me and her. Not me, her and my brothers.” he crossed his arms.

Jason scoffed. “I feel insulted that you would think that we would follow you.”

“Jay, you have followed him before. Multiple times, we even have proof of it.” Dick said, pulling out his phone.

“Hold on, you are no better there Dickiebird! You are the definition of overbearing, protective big brother! God forbid one of us goes out without your consent!” Jason snapped, poking him in the chest.

“Hey! It’s my job as the oldest! I gotta watch out for the younglings and you are no exception to that Jaybird!” Dick cried poking Jason on the chest.

“Younglings? What are we, Jedi learners?” Tim asked.

“Yes!” The two of them answered at the same time, looking at Tim who only shook his head. It was then Rory arrived with the others behind her.

“What did I just walk in on?” she asked, keeping a hold on her purse.

Tim walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Apparently we are all Jedi learners according to Dick.”

“Hey! I am no learner Grayson!” Steph called as she walked into the kitchen. “And neither is Babs or Cass!” 

Tim and Rory looked at each other, there was never going to be a normal conversation with this family is there? Quietly, while everyone was distracted Tim took her hand and led her out the door where his car was waiting.

The last time Rory rode with Tim in his car was on her birthday, normally they would take one of the bikes or the limo with Alfred. But with Rory’s current condition, bikes were out of the question and they weren’t going to ask Alfred this time. He needed a break after dealing with the Wayne household so much.

Rory looked around as Tim drove towards the city, he wasn’t going to the deeper parts of town. He stayed to the outskirts, looking for a place to park as he held her hand the whole time. Neither of them really had to speak, the quiet was nice and comforting.

It didn’t take long for them to find a place to park, Rory was about to get out when Tim stopped her. “Don’t you dare get out of this car Aurora Queen.” Before she could even ask, Tim got out and ran to the other side of the car to her door and opened it for her.

“My lady.” he grinned as he bowed and offered her a hand.

Rory gave him a look, with half a mind to hit him on the head. No one gave Tim permission to be this cute towards her, and it was making Rory melt on the inside. She took his hand as he helped her out of the car, shutting the door and locking it behind them.

It was now July and summer was in full swing. It was humid outside and no one wanted to go anywhere without some form of portable air conditioning. They were both dressed in summer attire, complimented with hats and a pair of shades. Neither of them wanted to get recognized today, so they walked slowly hand in hand.

Their first stop was an ice cream parlor, Tim ordered himself a scoop of vanilla while Rory got herself a scoop of chocolate. She let out a giggle as she watched Tim lick his, only to get ice cream on his nose. Reaching out a finger, she wiped it off and licked her finger clean earning a groan from Tim.

“Don’t do that Rory.”

Rory grinned. “Why not Timmy?” she teased.

Tim gave her a playful glare. “You know full well why.”

She let out a chuckle and continued to eat her ice cream, looking around the city. A lot of people were dressed for the beach, but her doctor had specifically told her no beaches at least for another week. She was going in on Monday to see how she was healing and seeing if she was allowed to do more intense things.

“So where else are we going?” she asked, as they walked and finished their ice cream. Rory was on the last few bites and Tim had just finished his and threw away the napkin.

“Maybe a few stores and one more stop after that.” he shrugged.

Rory eyed him suspiciously. Tim was hiding something from her, it was written all over his face. “What’s that final stop?” she asked.

“Nothing for you to worry about at the moment.” he grinned, knowing full well that it would irritate her until she found out.

Rory huffed and was about to say something but her words were cut off with his mouth pressed against hers. Tim had an arm wrapped around the back of her waist and the other cupped her cheek. She could taste the vanilla on his mouth, as he kissed her deeper. The kiss was passionate, as Tim held her close to himself and Rory wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him in deeper.

Rory’s knees went weak from the sheer force of the kiss as Tim pulled away and licked his lips. “You taste like chocolate.” he grinned.

She blinked at him, barely registering what the hell had just happened. Tim was not a fan of PDA, but he just kissed the hell out of her and dared to flirt with her right after in the middle of the sidewalk. Rory was at a loss for words, where did this come from?

“You taste like vanilla,” she muttered, still dazed by the kiss.

Tim chuckled and kept his arm around her waist as he led her down the street. He kept her close to his side and pressed a kiss into her hair as they came upon another store. It seemed to be a jeweler of some sort, but what was sold in the store were more vintage looking items.

The bell rang as they stepped in, an older man turning to look as see who entered his shop. His hair had greyed out and had a twinkle in his eyes. “What can I do for you young couple today?”

“I placed an order last week and got a call that it was ready?” Tim asked, smiling at the old man.

“What’s the name?” the elderly man asked.

“It was under Drake, Timothy Drake.” Both Rory and Tim watched as the man walked back to the room behind him to find this order Tim had placed. Once he was gone, Rory looked up at him.

“Tim, what the hell did you do?” she asked, only to get a shrug. He was being very secretive today and it was starting to get on her nerves. She was about to say something else to him when the old man came back into the room holding what seemed to be a jewelry box.

“I just finished restoring yesterday morning, is this the lady it’s for?” he asked.

Tim gave him a nod and looked at Rory. “Yeah, she is.”

The man gave Rory the box with a large smile. “You are lucky, this young man drives a very hard bargain but he requested nothing but the best. Said you were special, and seeing the way he looks at you I have to agree.”

Rory took the box from him and examined it. The box itself was old and wooden with a daisy carved into the lid of the box. She ran her fingers over the design slowly, it was beautiful.

“Go on, open it.”

Rory looked back at the old man, “You mean there is more?” she asked, clearly confused.

“Oh yes.” Rory looked at Tim who was blushing now.

She gave him a look before slowly opening the box. Inside was a necklace, it was the vintage style with daisies on the end of it. She let out a gasp as she slowly pulled it out of the box and looked at Tim with tears in her eyes. “Tim, it’s beautiful.”

“I knew you would like it.’ he smiled. Rory carefully placed it back in the box before she grabbed Tim by the neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

"I love it, and I love you,” she said softly.

The old man watched with kind eyes. “I’m glad to see she loves it.”

Tim chuckled softly and pulled out his wallet to pay for the necklace and the box, the old man thanking them as they left the store. Once they were out, Rory pulled the necklace out of the box and looked at her boyfriend.

“Can you put this on me?” she asked. Tim nodded and took the necklace and put it on her as she held her hair up. Once it was clasped, he placed a kiss on the back of her neck and her collar, sending a shiver down her spine.

“It looks beautiful on you.” he smiled.

Rory blushed at his words and kissed him again, cupping his cheek. “Thank you, Tim.”

He smiled down at her and took her hand. “Alright last stop for the day, let’s go. We’re burning daylight.” he chuckled and led her down the street.

They both walked, Rory, playing with the necklace as she looked around. This whole day had been amazing, and she had no idea what Tim had planned for their last stop. Rory noticed that they walked into the more residential area of the city and they stopped in front of a building. Tim had told her to stay outside, and wait for him while he went in. Rory only gave him a more confused look as she watched him walk away.

She leaned against the wall while she waited, losing herself to her thoughts.

What was Tim up to, and why was he being so secretive? This had been one of the best days of her life, along with her birthday and the day she told him that she loved him. All three days had been days she spent with Tim.

Tim walked out and held his hand out to her, and she took it following him into the building and up the stairs. He was silent the whole way up, not answering any of Rory’s questions. She was confused more than ever about what he was up to, especially when he stopped in front of a door and told her to close her eyes.

Rory gave him a huff and crossed her arms. “I am not closing my eyes, Timothy Drake.”

“Yes you are, Aurora Queen, or I will blindfold you myself,” he said, mockingly crossing his arms.

“Didn’t know that you were into that kind of stuff Dragon Boy.” she grinned as she closed her eyes. There was a click of a door unlocking as he took her hand leading her forward. She stumbled after him carefully, not wanting to fall. He pulled her to a stop and let go of her hands.

“Tim, what the hell are you doing?” she asked.

“Will you just be patient Songbird and trust me?” he asked. Rory could tell that he was no longer next to her. After a few minutes, she felt his hands on hers. “Alright, open your eyes.”

Rory did as he said and looked around to see that they were in an apartment. She even more confused, why the hell would Tim lead her to an empty apartment? Looking at him, Tim looked nervous.

“Tim, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing is wrong, promise. But what do you think?” he asked.

Rory took another look around. “It’s nice, perfect even but I don’t understand why we are here?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I had a thought that maybe it would be nice to have a place of our own. So I did some looking and found this place. It's on the top floor, with a fire escape so that part is covered. Water and plumbing are good along with the heating and air conditioning.” he explained.

As he spoke, things slowly became more clear to her.

“I didn’t buy anything yet because I wanted to know your thoughts, but would you be willing to move in here with me?” he asked, playing with his fingers. The nervous look on his face didn’t change, Tim really wanted her to say yes. But he also knew that there was a possibility that she wasn’t ready for it yet, and would be willing to wait until she was.

Rory was frozen in her spot, this would explain all of his odd behavior throughout the day. He was nervous about asking her to move in with him, getting a place of their own. Taking another look around, Rory had to admit that it was a nice apartment and very convenient for their nightlife. She would be lying to herself if she said that she hadn’t thought about moving in with Tim at all, he spent most nights in her room anyway and never left her side, to begin with. How much different could it be? So she gave him the only answer she could.

“I would love to live here with you Tim.”


	42. Chapter Forty-One

“Again.” Rory wiped her mouth, getting the small amount of blood on her lip. Roy looked down at her with a concerned look, Rory had only been out of the hospital for a couple of weeks and he was worried that she was pushing herself too hard. The doctor had said that she could increase her daily workout, but she was working too hard to get back in the game.

“Twinkle Toes, maybe we should take a break,” he said, offering her a hand.

“I don’t need a break Roy, I need to get back on track so I can go back on patrol,” she said, pushing his hand away and standing straight on her feet. Rory had a habit of trying to sneak out so Jason and Tim told Roy to take her to the safehouse they knew about to keep her out of trouble for at least a couple of hours.

Roy let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair as he gave Jesse a look. They both could see that she was pushing too hard, and it worried them. “Rory, he’s right. You are pushing yourself too hard and you need to stop doing it.”

“I said I’m fine Jess!” she snapped.

Jesse hopped into the ring and walked towards her and pointed a finger at her. “No, you’re going to listen to me. Tim and Jason asked us to bring you here for a reason and it’s for your own good, what the fuck has you so hellbent on getting back onto the field?” he questioned.

Rory glared at him. “Nothing, I just hate being cooped up. The two of you should know this better than anyone,” she muttered.

“You’re right, the two of us know you better than anyone so we know when you have ulterior motives,” Roy said, leaning against the ropes of the ring they were all in.

Rory crossed her arms and turned away from both of them. Of course, the two people in the world who knew her best were the ones to call her on her bullshit. There was a reason she wanted to get back onto the field, but the second she told them what it was they would not let her out ever again. Rory had too many things at risk for her not to be able to go out.

Roy and Jesse had taken notice of her sudden silence. There was definitely something up with Rory and no one was leaving until she spoke. “Come on, talk to us. We aren’t going to change what we think of you because of this, we’ve all been through so much together. We’re like the three musketeers, through thick and thin we stick together.”

Honestly, there were a lot of things that were on her mind. She and Tim were fixing on moving into that apartment after they solved this case and Slade was taken care of. She was worried about the case with Harley and Ivy, she was always worried about Tim and she couldn’t stop thinking about her last encounter with Slade.

The other night, Damian had come up to her saying that it was his mother who had ordered the attack on her parents and even gave her an apology on Talia’s behalf. The exchange ended with her giving him a soft pat on the shoulder and a small smile with a thank you. It was still hard for her to talk about her parents’ deaths, they had a major impact on her.

Jesse stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Rory, come on.”

She turned slowly and looked at the two of them “You want me to be honest? Fine. I’m scared. I’m scared that Tim is going to wake up one day and realize that I am not who he thinks I am. I’m scared that he is going to get hurt because I am not out there to keep him out of trouble. But most of all, I’m scared that Slade is going to kill me before I finally put a stop to him.”

Roy let out a sigh. “Rory, revenge never ends well. You tried getting revenge on him the last time, and that’s what got that family killed. You lose control of your actions when you’re emotional and it isn’t safe for yourself and others.”

“So you’re saying that I’m a danger to everyone around me?” she asked, looking at him with disbelief.

Roy quickly shook his head. “No! Fuck no! Rory, if you continue down this path of revenge then you will be. What happens if Tim gets hurt, or one of us because you are so hellbent on revenge against the man that killed your parents?” he asked.

“Why do I feel like you are trying to push us all away?”

Rory scoffed. “I am not trying to push you all away.”

“Do you really think I can’t tell when you are lying?” Roy asked, walking over. He could see it in her eyes, Rory was fighting back tears trying to keep them at bay. With a sigh, he pulled her into a hug as Jesse did the same.

“I don’t know why I ever thought I could do this. This whole vigilante thing, I’m not good at it and I can’t protect others.” she sniffed, wrapping her arms around Roy tighter.

“No, don’t think that. You have saved plenty of people, I could go get the statements of those you have saved if I have to in order to show you that you are worth being a hero. Sure, everyone messes up but you have made up for your mistakes in the good deeds you have done.”

Rory wiped her eyes softly, she knew Roy was right but that didn’t mean she fully believed him. It felt kind of nice, hanging out with just the two of them for once without any missions getting in the way. Even though Roy and Jesse were a couple now they didn’t leave Rory out. She was still important to them even though her relationship with Jesse ended on a sour note but years later, she could see that they were never meant to work out. It was plain as day, seeing how much Roy and Jesse loved each other, and she loved Tim more than anything.

“Come on, how about we take a break from training for a bit and go out for lunch? Get your mind off of things?” Roy asked, looking down at her.

“Leave it to you to think with your stomach Harper, I swear you are always hungry.” Jesse chuckled.

“He thinks food will solve every problem in the world.” Rory laughed trying to wiggle out of the hug she was trapped in. Of course, with Roy and Jesse being themselves they only held her tighter between them making her laugh once again.

“I can break your noses if I want too, you guys do know that right?” she threatened.

“Please don’t, you have done it already twice before and I am not looking forward to a third time.” Roy quickly let her go and covered his nose, with Jesse copying his actions. She had broken Jesse’s nose only once and that time was on accident. With Roy, both were on purpose.

“Let me go get cleaned up and we can leave okay?” she hopped out of the ring and walked to one of the spare rooms that held her clothes but when she got there, Rory knew immediately that something was up.

First of all, the room was not this clean the last time she left it and the various items looked as if they had been shifted. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a package of sorts awaiting her on the bed. The smart thing would be to alert Roy and Jesse, but there was the possibility that they had left it there for her. Slowly, she crossed the floor towards the bed.

The package that was there was long and thin, eliminating what it could be by a lot of factors with just it’s size. She was now standing at the edge of the bed and picked it up in her hands when Roy came knocking on the door.

“Twinkle Toes, what’s taking you so long?” He peeked in the room to see what she was holding. “What is that?”

Quickly, Rory turned to look at him. “You mean that you didn’t leave this here on the bed?” she asked.

Roy only shook his head. “I have never seen that before until now, do you think it was Jesse?” he asked.

“Was what me?” Jess asked, walking into the room following Roy as they both walked over to stand by her. He too saw the package and raised an eyebrow. “Did Darkwing Duck leave that for you?” he asked.

“Darkwing Duck? Really Jess, what the fuck?” she asked, turning to look at him. he just simply shrugged.

“What? His last name is Drake, and that’s his secret identity; Drake Mallard?” he elaborated. Rory rolled her eyes. She was surrounded by idiots, but she wouldn’t want to trade them for anything.

Carefully, her hands unwrapped the white bow on the package and dropped it to the floor as she tore off the wrapping paper. Underneath, it was just a plain brown box but the weight of it told her that there was something in it. Using one of her keys, she cut through the tape and slid the contents out of the box.

What she saw, Rory’s stomach dropped and her eyes widened.

Inside were three stark white arrows, stained with blood.

Rory dropped them to the floor like they were on fire and backed away in a panic. “How the fuck did these get here!?”

Roy and Jesse recognized them and the former quickly walked over and grabbed Rory by the arms. She was starting to panic, her breathing was erratic and black spots were starting to form in her vision. Rory would have collapsed to the floor if Roy wasn’t the one holding her up. Her gaze wouldn’t leave the floor where the arrows were laid out, taunting her with their dark past.

Jesse knelt down and felt them with his fingers, he knew what Rory’s arrows looked like and these were a set from her white suit for sure but what intrigued him the most was how old they were. Yes, there was dried blood on them, but it wasn’t two years old.

“Guys, these are her arrows. But the thing is, they aren’t those arrows,” he said.

Roy looked away from Rory and at his boyfriend in confusion. “What the hell does that mean?” he asked.

“It means, that these aren’t two years old. Bloodstains that are that old, they would be more faded. The red is still very bright, this was a few days ago at the soonest, a week at the latest.” he explained.

Rory could barely hear him through the ringing in her ears, but she had caught onto a few keywords. They weren’t those arrows, and that brought the oxygen back into her lungs. Roy felt Rory relax in his hold, watching her as she slowly calmed herself down.

Giving him a grateful look, Rory slowly walked over and picked up the box once more seeing that there was something else in it. Shaking the box once more, Rory saw that it was an envelope that was filled to the max. Of what? None of them knew yet.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the envelope and gasped at what she saw. It was a picture of her and Tim the day he took her to the apartment for the first time. They were the only ones there, she knew they were the only ones there but yet someone had managed to get a picture of this moment when she told him, yes and he pulled her in for a kiss.

The pictures continued, showing the moments she had spent outside the manor normally with Tim from her birthday to when she was held captured by the Joker even to when she was in France sitting with Alexis.

But it wasn’t just her, there were various pictures of her, Roy, and Jesse from around the time they had spent in Gotham. A couple of them were in the privacy of this very safehouse capturing the moments neither Jesse nor Roy wanted others to see. Roy snatched the picture of his and Jesse’s bare forms in his bed and let out an inhuman growl.

“Who the fuck took these, and how the hell do they know who we are?” he snapped.

Rory couldn’t hear him, she was too focused on the final pictures of the pile. She was sick to her stomach, it wasn’t just Roy and Jesse they had photographed in those vulnerable moments. It was a picture of her and Tim the day he took her out and rented that penthouse suite after her pregnancy scare. She could feel the bile rise in her throat at the photo of her and Tim in bed, kissing and touching each other in ways that no one else should know about.

The last pictures in her hand were of that night, focused on her and Tim having sex and she never felt more violated. Jesse and Roy were looking through the pictures that had them in it, their anger rising to dangerous levels.

Rory crumpled the envelope in her hand, noticing that there was one more photo in it. She pulled it out and stumbled, seeing what it was. It was a family photo of the two parents and little boy she had killed two years ago, smiling happily as could be unaware of the tragedy that would befall them.

Tears fell from her eyes as she stared at it, being reminded of her greatest failure once again. The final photo was the final piece of the puzzle as to who had sent this to them. The blood-stained arrows, the photos of her, Roy, and Jesse, and then the photo of the family she had killed? Only one person knew all of these details about her life and was willing to use them against her.

Rory was about to rip the photo in half when she realized that there was something written on the back. “Guys, look at this.”

Roy and Jesse leaned over her shoulder to see what it was she was looking at.

_“I told you Aurora, if you lived I would make it worse. Consider these a parting gift, reminders of what is probably your greatest accomplishment, and your greatest failure. Don’t let these go down the drain.”_

The three of them looked at each other. What the hell was this? Rory knew her greatest failure, but what was this all about her greatest accomplishment? Roy took it from her fingers to read it himself. “What does it mean accomplishment?” he asked.

Rory shook her head. “I have no idea, does it mean Tim? Every photo of me is when I am with Tim, every single one of them,” she muttered.

“Maybe it’s the fact that you were able to move on and start a semi-normal life for yourself, but I have no idea why there are pictures of me and Roy in there as well,” Jesse commented, crossing his arms.

“Maybe he knew that you two would be with me almost every day?” she asked.

“He? You don’t mean Slade?” Roy asked.

Rory nodded. “There is only one person in the world who knows this much and would use it against me, Roy.”

“Why the hell would he leave this here? And how did he find us and get in without any of us noticing? Jess and I have been staying here while we’ve been in Gotham, we would have noticed if he was poking around.”

The two of them looked at Jesse to see what he thought, but the photos he was holding were covered in ice along with the floor where he stood. The expression on his face was neutral, but Roy and Rory could tell that Jesse was beyond mad. He always had a good hand on his powers, it was only when he got extremely mad and upset did he lose control.

Roy quickly walked over and cupped his face with both hands, ignoring the ice-cold feeling of his skin. “Jess, baby look at me.” he pleaded. “You need to calm down before you freeze us to death, the temp is already dropping rapidly and Rory and I aren’t immune to the cold like you are.”

Jesse’s eyes flickered to Roy and Rory noticed a certain softness to them when he looked at Roy, she could tell that he was deeply in love with him. Slowly, the temperature began to rise and the ice slowly melted away as Roy took his hands, his eyes not leaving Jesse’s.

“I swear you’re the mother of the group.” Rory chuckled softly. “You are one of few people who can successfully calm the both of us down, do you have that superpower with any of the others too?” she chuckled.

Roy and Jesse let out a laugh. “No, believe it or not, not everyone I work with has anger issues on the hour. The only other person who actually gets as angry as the two of you is Jay and even then he doesn’t throw things at people’s heads, throw them off of buildings or threaten to break their jaws.”

“I don’t do any of that,” Jesse stated.

“I know, all of that was aimed at her. Rory is the most violent person I know, and I am best friends with Jason Todd.” he chuckled.

Rory rolled her eyes and looked at the writing once more, something was off about that last sentence. ‘Don’t let these go down the drain’? What was that supposed to mean, unless…

Her face drained of color and she looked at the two boys in front of her. “Rory, what’s the matter?” Roy asked, looking at her. All she could do was point at the word 'drain’. The other two seemed to have gotten her message before the three of them took off out of the room and began to search the entire warehouse and check every drain.

Roy had gone up the stairs, Jesse went to the basement where the training ring was and Rory checked the main floor. Drain was a very specific place, and they all had a bad feeling. Roy had come down the stairs first and went down to help Jesse search as she kept looking through every bathroom.

She checked the kitchen last and her eyes saw the one thing was hoping not to find. Attached to the drain under the sink was a bomb set to go off in fifteen seconds. Quickly she got up and grabbed her phone, running for the stairs to the basement as she dialed the first number that came to mind.

“Roy! Jesse! It’s in the kitchen, we need to get out now!” she cried. The two of them appeared at the bottom of the steps and quickly ran up them, Jesse in the lead not letting go of Roy’s hand. if her countdown was right, they had less than ten seconds to get out.

The number she dialed picked up almost immediately.

_“Princess, what’s going on?”_

“Jay! It’s Slade! He put-” Rory never finished her sentence before she was knocked off her feet with such a force, she blacked out the second her body hit the wall across the room.


	43. Chapter Forty-Two

_Jay! It’s Slade! he pu-“_

The next thing Jason heard was an explosion so loud that he dropped his phone in shock, quickly diving to grab it again. "Rory? Rory!?” The line was dead, and he looked to the other people in the cave who were giving him a confused look.

“Jason, what happened?” Bruce asked.

Before Jason could answer, Stephanie ran in looking frantic. “Turn on the news!” she screamed.

Tim, Dick, and Damian looked a little taken back at her volume before Bruce changed the monitor to the Gotham News, their jaws dropping at what they saw on the screen.

_“Breaking News! An old abandoned warehouse was just recently blown up, sources say that no one had used it in a long time and it was long thought forgotten. Authorities are still unsure of what caused this explosion, and it is unknown if there are any casualties.”_

Tim stared at the screen before he shared a look with Jason. The two of them recognized that warehouse, it was the bigger safe house they knew about that belonged to Oliver. “Jay, what did Rory say on the phone?” he asked, scared of his answer.

“Not much, she was cut off by what sounded like an explosion,” he said, still staring at the screen as firetrucks arrived on the scene. Before anyone could say another word, Tim and Jason were suited up and on their bikes driving out of the cave into the night.

_“Tim, Jason, we’ll meet you two there. Rory’s tracker says that she is still there, so I am willing to bet Jesse and Roy are as well. Be careful, we don’t know what caused this.” Bruce said through the comm._

Both Red Robin and Red Hood gave a hum of agreement, as they kept driving listening to the police scanner hoping they heard some kind of good news. The safe house was on the other side of the city, so it had taken them almost fifteen minutes to get there and they were speeding as fast as they could. Both of them had people important to them missing in the explosion, and they were hoping that they didn’t find their dead bodies crushed.

When Red Robin pulled up, he nearly threw himself off the bike. The sigh in front of him was devastating, the entire warehouse was leveled with ash flying everywhere. He was saying silent prayers, hoping that Rory was not caught in all of this. She had almost once already this month, he wasn’t ready for a second time.

The fire had been put out, and firefighters were searching through the wreckage trying to see if there was anyone giving a hint to what had sent it up in flames. As he walked, Tim recognized different things like the decorations Oliver had hidden there. Lucky for them, all the weapons and other items similar to that were stashed in a secret bunker. There was no way in hell that got blown up.

He heard a crunch under his foot and saw that it was a white arrow, stained with week-old blood. Red Robin eyed it carefully, what was one of Rory’s old arrows doing here covered in blood? Looking at the floor, something else had caught his attention. Bending down, he brushed more rubble away and saw compromising pictures of him and Rory the night they spent away from the manor.

Seeing these made his blood boil, hoping that she had never seen these not wanting to know how she reacted. He also noticed that there were pictures of Roy and Jesse in just as compromising positions. With a cry of anger, his fist hit the ground. Whoever took these, knew who they all were.

Red Hood had heard his cry and walked over. “What’s wrong Red, did you find something?” he asked.

Without a word, he held up the few photos that were not ruined and showed him, Red Hood letting out a string of colorful curses. “Holy fuck, who the hell took these?”

“I have no idea, but I also found this.” he held up the arrow and showed it to him. Red Hood pocketed the photos and took the arrow, twirling it in his fingers.

“This is definitely her’s but where’s the blood from?”

Red Robin shook his head, eyes scanning around the area once more for a sign of movement. It was dead quiet, and it shot fear through his heart. Any idiot could have figured out that it was most likely Slade who had done this, in another attempt to kill Rory and it would explain the arrow but what the hell was up with the photos?

There was a groan from behind Red Hood and the two of them quickly turned and ran over to see a figure moving in the rubble. As they got closer, the two of them realized that they had found Roy. Red Robin and Red Hood were able to tell from his bright red hair that was slightly ashen now.

“Roy, what the hell happened here?” Red Hood asked, helping his friend up.

Roy struggled to his feet, trying to shake the headache away. He must have hit the ground harder than she thought when the building blew. “We were working with Rory on her training when it turned into this huge thing. To cheer her up, I decided that we all would go out for lunch and she left to get changed. I realized that it took her a long time, and when I found her she was holding a package.”

“Let me guess, it held three bloodstained arrows and a set of various pictures?” Red Robin snapped, crossing his arms.

“I’m guessing you saw them?” he asked. Both Red Robin and Red Hood nodded. “Well, when we saw the arrows and the photos we all knew something was up. The final photo was of the family she killed and on the back was a note. Not really cryptic, but not exactly plain English either. It talked about her greatest achievement and failure and wanting to remind her of it. Then it said something about a drain and that’s when we went searching. Rory found the bomb in the kitchen, Jesse and I were on our way up when the building blew.” Roy finished the story and looked around, his eyes widening at the fact that neither Rory nor Jesse had been found yet.

“Did you guys find them yet?” he asked quickly. The two of them shook their heads, hearing the Batmobile pull in with Nightwing right behind him.

Batman flew out of the car with Robin right behind him. “Anything?” he asked.

“We have some evidence, but we have yet to find Rory and Jesse.” Red Hood said.

Batman nodded, “We’ll keep looking. Robin, help Roy to the ambulance so he can get the care he needs.” At his words, Robin nodded and carefully supported Roy as he led him to the ambulance, the rest of them continuing the search for Rory and Jesse.

It had been another twenty minutes before Red Robin caught a glimpse of a familiar mop of brown hair hidden among the rubble. Quickly he ran over and grabbed the concrete slab and began to lift it upwards. Getting it high enough, he could see clear as day that it was Rory underneath.

“Hood! Nightwing! I found her!” he called. The two of them looked and rushed over before Tim dropped the slab and pushed it off her. Red Robin fell to his knees and scooped her limp form into his arms as he checked her over, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still breathing.

Brushing her hair out of her face, he tried to keep his tears at bay. “Come on, Songbird wake up.” Rory remained unresponsive, her body battered and bruised from the building falling on her. Carefully he checked her over to see if anything was broken or cut open, but they seemed to have gotten lucky for the first time. Rory needed no immediate attention, there was a good chance she had a concussion but that was treatable with sleep and relaxation.

Carefully, he held her tight in his arms as he walked over towards where Roy was sat before setting her down there. Aurora Queen was publicly dating Tim Drake, no matter how much it killed him to leave her with Roy he couldn’t be there for her at the moment. If Red Robin was seen doting on her, people would begin to ask questions. Questions, he didn’t want to be asked.

The search continued for Jesse, but he was nowhere in sight. According to Roy, he was right in front of him when the building blew up so by default he should be close to where they found Roy originally but there was nothing to be found. The firefighters had determined the cause, it was a pipe bomb attached to the pipes under the kitchen sink, again as Roy had said.

While the others searched, Red Robin walked back over to where he found the photos and arrows. He rummaged through the ash and debris to try and find every last photo those three had gotten, hoping that at least one of them would give a clue.

A good chunk of them was burned beyond repair, but most of them had survived along with the rest of the arrows from the box. He picked them all up and stored them in the compartment on his bike before walking over to Batman.

“There is no sign of Jesse Bats, what do we do?” he asked.

“Look around, what do you see?” Batman asked.

Red Robin took a look around. “I see the wreckage of a blown-up building.”

“Look deeper than that, some of this stuff when we got here was already upturned. You said that you had found Roy quickly because he woke up and moved right? Well, what about his surroundings?”

Red Robin turned around and looked at the area they had found Roy, Batman was right. A good amount of the rubble had been shifted, he could tell because the ash pattern on the rubble was different and thicker in weird spots. He squinted his eyes, and could vaguely make out a partial set of footprints there. Roy had landed a few feet away, and they had found where Rory was so did that mean Jesse had landed here?

“Jesse was here, but now he’s not. Why?” he asked, standing straight.

“That’s what I am trying to figure out.”

Red Robin took another look around whoever had taken Jesse, his bet was on Slade, had to have left them a clue. With the assumption that it was Slade, there had to be something. His intention was to kill Rory, but yet Jesse was the one missing and not here. What kind of game was he playing with them this time?

“Take Rory back to the cave, Roy too. Robin, Nightwing, and I will keep looking around.” Batman ordered. “Red Hood, go with them. Tell the others that I’m going to need their assistance if my assumption is right.”

Both Red Robin and Red Hood nodded and walked over to the ambulance where Roy was supporting Rory as she slowly woke from her sleep. Lifting her head, she saw the two vigilantes walking towards them. Even though he wore his mask, Rory could see the relief wash over his face seeing that she was awake not injured.

“Hey Red, how is everything?” she asked.

“Glad to see you’re okay Miss Queen, let’s get you home.” He gently picked her up off the back of the ambulance and carried her to his bike and grabbed the spare helmet, sliding it down onto Rory’s head, and climbed on in front of her. “Hold on tight.”

Rory wrapped her arms around his waist as he took off towards the cave. It was weird hearing him address her so formally, but she understood why. If there was anyone around trying to report on the incident, then the two of them had to make sure that they did not look like they knew each other.

She tightened her grip around his waist, wanting to give him some physical sign that she was okay. Tim slid a hand down to grip hers softly, unable to do much else as he drove. Pulling into the cave, Steph and Cass were ready to go giving them a wave as the two of them drove out to meet up with Bruce and the others.

Parking his bike, he swung his leg over and got off before getting the helmet off of Rory’s head. Once it was off, she flinched from the sudden exposure to the fluorescent lights that decorated the cave. Like Tim had thought, Rory must have hit her head.

“Here, keep your eyes closed and I can carry you upstairs sweetheart.” He pulled the cowl off his head and draped his cape over hers, to block out the light as he carried her up.

“How are Roy and Jesse?” she asked. Tim kept her close to his chest, as he carried her up the steps to her room. “Let’s get you taken care of and then we can talk about all of that okay?”

He had a bunch of questions himself, more importantly about those pictures he had found. They unnerved him, he could only imagine how it had made Rory feel. From the sudden timidness of her actions, he could see that she was bothered by something for sure. Tim pushed open her door with his foot and turned on the low light lamp so they could see and it wasn’t too much light hurting her head.

Setting her on the bed, he knelt before her and looked at Rory as she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. “You okay Timmy?” she asked softly.

He let out a soft chuckle and gripped her hand, kissing her palm. “You’re the one that just got blown up and you are asking if I’m okay? I found you buried under concrete, shouldn’t I be asking if you that question?”

“I’ve been through worse Dragon Boy.”

Tim let out a sigh. “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen it, can we go a couple of months without you almost dying, please? I don’t think my heart can handle seeing you like that anymore.” his voice cracked at the end of his sentence, alerting Rory to just how upset he was.

Carefully, Rory lowered herself off the bed and straddled his lap as she cupped his face with both of her hands. Tim kept his eyes closed, not wanting her to see the tears he was fighting back. Hearing Jason’s end of the conversation and then seeing the aftermath of the explosion on TV and personally had taken its toll on him. He had come so close to losing her once again, and of course, he wasn’t there to protect her like last time and the time before that.

“Tim, baby, look at me please?” she asked.

It took some convincing, but he finally opened his eyes and looked at her. They were a bright blue from Tim trying to hold back his tears that she could see trying to break free. Slowly, she pressed her lips to his forehead. “I’m okay, and I’m right here,” she whispered.

He pulled her close as Tim buried his face in her shoulder and his hands gripped the back of her shirt. “Stop telling me you’re okay Rory, please.” he sniffed, the tears falling from his eyes and landing on her shoulder. Rory was taken back at his words, why would he say something like that to her?

“But Tim, I am just fine.”

“I saw those pictures and the arrows. There is no way in hell you are okay after that, fuck I’m not okay after seeing them.” He pulled away from her shoulder to look at her, and like he expected the second he mentioned the pictures she clammed up.

“It’s okay to not be okay.” he brushed the hair back from her eyes, trying to get some sense of emotion from her. Rory’s eyes avoided his gaze knowing full well that if she looked at him again she would break. Even then, the burning emotions she had been suppressing the whole time started to bubble to the surface. Rory was feeling a lot of things, rage, hatred, repulsed, violated but most of all she felt hopeless.

Was this nightmare ever going to end?

“Rory say something.”

“You want me to say something? Fine, I want to know who took those pictures of us are so I can make them feel the same things I am right now. I’ve been through some serious shit, but this? This is the worst. I’ve been beaten, blown up, tortured, stabbed, shot, and almost killed more times than I can count but someone taking pictures of us like this is a different kind of pain.” she said, trying to hold back the tears.

Tim sat there, holding her as she spoke. Rory was right, this was different than physical pain. Someone had taken those pictures and used them to mock her, and him with the intention of hurting them. “You’re right, this is different but it’s part of my job as your boyfriend to make sure that you are taken care of. I can’t do that if you shut me out Songbird, you don’t have to be alone in this.”

“I will always be here for you, never forget that.”

Rory swallowed as the tears fell from her eyes, Tim reaching up to brush them away. “I love you more than life itself, and I’m not going to leave you.”

She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes feeling the warmth from his skin on her cheek. Tim was always good at comforting her, she always felt the safest when she was with him out on the field or not. Rory trusted Tim with her heart, life, and soul; he was the only one who got to see the deepest parts of her that no one else could.

“Promise?” she asked, softly.

Tim gave her a smile and pecked her lips. “How could I leave? You own my heart, Aurora Queen. If you ever left me, it would go with you.”

“And you own mine,” she whispered, kissing him deeply. Tim’s hands found the back of her shirt, as she kissed him with all she had. His hand trailed down to her hips gripping them tightly as he presses himself against her, carefully lifting her back onto the bed placing her on the soft purple sheets.

Her hair spread across her pillows as Tim wound his fingers in her dark locks, pulling her impossibly closer to him. Rory’s hand gripped the collar of his suit, trying to pull it off of him wanting to feel the warmth of his body on hers. She felt the familiar ache, the echoes of the want she had for Tim as he pushed her shirt up, exposing her stomach.

He broke from the kiss long enough to get her shirt off, before his lips were back on hers devouring them into a kiss so deep she let out airy moans.

“You’re so beautiful, I love every little thing about you,” he muttered.

“Your eyes, nose, cheeks.” he pressed light kisses to each part he named, long enough to satisfy but not fully as his hands worked on sliding her leggings off her body, ghosting his fingers against her delicate skin.

Rory’s body shuddered under his touch, her eyes fluttering open to look at him as he kissed lower. “I love your jaw, your throat, and the cute sounds you make as I bite the right spot.” Doing just that, Rory let out a gasp, gripping his hair tightly.

“I love your collar, shoulders and the scars that decorate your skin.” she watched as Tim kissed each scar on her chest and upper body, sending tingles of electricity through her body making her desire for him only grow.

“I love your stomach, and the swell of your hips.” The kisses he placed there made Rory whimper softly, wanting Tim to touch her further. His hands slid down her thighs and gripped them tightly as he placed kisses on them, leading a trail upwards.

“But, most of all I love your lips.” It was then he kissed her fully, Rory a soft whimpering mess under him as he slid himself out of his suit. She ran her hands down his bareback as she dug her nails into his skin, making Tim shiver under her touch.

“I love you Aurora Queen, and as long as I live and breathe I will be with you.”


	44. Chapter Forty-Three

Tim woke the next morning, his body was sore from the night before but he wasn’t going to complain about it. He had spent it with Rory, holding her close to himself as he told her how much he loved her. Oliver had said once before that Tim was wrapped around her finger, and after last night there was no way in hell he could deny it.

Rolling over, he expected to see his brown-haired sleeping beauty beside him but was surprised to see that she was not there. Sitting up the blankets bunched around his waist, barely covering his naked lower half as he saw that it was late in the morning so that meant the others were probably up. So he decided it was probably a good idea to at least put pants on before he showed his face to the public.

Lucky for him, he had stashed clothes in Rory’s room for nights similar to the one before where he didn’t change out of his suit before going to bed. Pulling a pair on, he grabbed a spare shirt and ruffled his hair trying to tone down some of the mess.

He had never told Rory that Jesse was missing, and she was probably with them. If she found out that he didn’t tell her about that, Tim would be a dead man walking. Quietly, he left her room and shut the door before making his way down to the kitchen following the scent of freshly brewed coffee.

Pushing the door open, he saw Rory curled up on one of the chairs talking to Jason and Steph. But what had caught him off guard was the fact that Roy was sat on Jesse’s lap across the table from Rory and they seemed like there were all in a good mood and no serious injuries.

Rory turned her head and smiled when she saw him. “Hey you, I was about to bring up a cup of coffee and try and wake you.”

Tim chuckled and leaned down, kissing her lips softly. “There are other things I would rather wake up to than a cup of coffee.” he teased.

Rory’s face heated up at his words, her eyes widening at the surprise of what he just said. When the fuck did Tim start openly flirting with her like that with people around? Normally, it was in the confinement of her room or just when they were alone but it had caught her completely off guard.

“Holy shit, did he just make Rory blush?” Roy asked, a grin forming on his face.

“Damn, Darkwing Duck has some moves.” Jesse teased, keeping an arm around Roy’s waist as he sipped his coffee.

Tim paused in the middle of making his own cup and turned to look at Jesse. “Darkwing Duck? That’s the best you can do?” he asked.

“Oh come on, Darkwing Duck is cool! It’s a compliment, Tim! You have to at least say the catchphrase.” he asked,

Tim shook his head, grabbing his full cup of coffee and sitting next to Rory. “It’s not happening Jesse, I refuse to ever say it in this lifetime.”

Jesse slumped in his chair looking defeated before he looked at Rory. He didn’t even get the words out of his mouth before she held a hand up to stop him. “Stop harassing my boyfriend Jess, that’s my job.”

Tim was about to thank her, but quickly stopped and gave her a look after hearing the last half of the sentence. “That’s your job? Oh really?” he asked, sipping his coffee. Rory looked at him with a grin and gave him a nod, sipping her own cup.

Tim chuckled and pulled her close, placing a kiss below her ear. “That’s not what you said last night,” he whispered, this time no one heard it but her. Rory almost spat out her coffee, her face heating up more than it already was. What the hell was up with Tim?

Looking at the others she was talking to, she continued their conversation. “So you guys found nothing other than what was in the rubble of the explosion?” she asked.

Both Jason and Steph shook their heads. “A good chunk of the stuff in the safe house was destroyed, with the pictures we saved, and those arrows down in the cave are running through diagnostics as we speak,” he answered.

At the mention of the photos, Tim, Rory, Jesse, and Roy all tensed up. They had successfully forgotten about them for a couple of hours at least, but Jason had to bring them back into their trains of thought.

“Anything about the arrows?” She asked softly, knowing what the answer was most likely going to be but scared of what it could be. Jess had said that the blood wasn’t older than a week, so she had some faith they weren’t really from that night. But faith was a hard thing to have when an assassin was trying to kill her constantly, and following every move she made while outside the manor.

“The blood is animal blood, our best guess is cow blood but that’s still unsure,” Steph answered. “But the pictures… we have nothing to go off of.”

Everyone was quiet, the six people in the room had seen the photos and knew what they contained. Jason and Steph wouldn’t have even brought them up if they weren’t part of a major case but they needed everything the three of them knew about those pictures.

“I think it was Slade,” Rory spoke after a few tense moments.

“Why do you think that? He wants you dead, not freaked out about certain photos.” Jay commented, leaning against the back of the chair.

“Think about it, this whole thing has been about me. The Joker? That was Slade’s doing. He wanted me to get to such a low point, I killed again and I did. I shot a man between the eyes, giving him the win. I managed to survive his last attack, winning that round because Tim got me out in time.” she said.

The others were giving her a confused look, “Songbird, what are you getting at?” Tim asked.

“Don’t you see? Killing me, it’s just a game to him. I don’t think he has ever had a target that has caused him so much trouble before, so he wants to make sure I suffer. That note on the family photo? My greatest achievement and failure? The failure was obvious, but my greatest achievement to him is the fact that I am still alive after he made an attempt on my life once before.”

“But that doesn’t explain the pictures themselves,” Jesse said.

Tim was silent the whole time, listening to her speak and he had to agree with her. Rory was right, Slade was treating this like a game. A game that only one person was coming out alive from, banking on it being himself.

“It shows just how close he has been the whole time, we didn’t even know he was in town back in December and that’s when several of them are from. But it also shows that he can’t see us while we are in the manor, Bruce must have so much security that he can’t get anywhere close to even try and get creepy photos,” he said, looking at the table as he concentrated.

“What does that have to do with us?” Roy asked, looking at Tim and Rory.

“You were a test, to see if he could get that close in those moments without you noticing. He probably has photos of everyone in this Manor along with Oli and Dinah, hell even possibly Kori and Helena. Slade wants to scare me with the fact he can get clear photos like that of those I care about and they never noticed. He can kill them just as easily, to make me suffer like he wants before he delivers the final blow.”

The dining room was quiet, no one was safe with Slade on the hunt for Rory. If what Tim said about the security being so tight, then Wayne Manor was the only safe place for them to be for the time being. Queen Manor had high levels of security as well, which was all the way in Washington on the opposite side of the country.

Rory got up from her seat and put her cup in the sink after rinsing it out. “I’m going down to the cave to train, does anyone want to join me?” she asked.

The others gave each other a look and shrugged, “Sure, why not. Why don’t we get the others and make it a competition?” Jason grinned.

Rory’s smile twisted into a grin at his words. “Think you can finally beat me princess?” she asked.

“You know, for someone who is recovering from a stab wound and just got blown up you are very cocky,” Jason commented.

Rory pursed her lips, giving him a nod. “You know, for someone who is supposed to be dead you’re doing a lot of talking.” she crossed her arms, watching Jason’s jaw drop with a grin on her face.

“Damn, who pissed in your cheerios?”

“No one did, I got blown up.”

“Yeah, it’s not fun is it princess?”

Rory rolled her eyes “Yeah, I can see why you are always so moody now.” and turned to walk out the door as the others started laughing at what they just witnessed. She walked up to her room and changed into training gear, not wanting to take much time. Rory was in the process of brushing her hair when Tim walked in, with his hands in the pockets of his sweats.

“You alright Songbird?” he asked.

Rory peeked out from the bathroom to look at Tim. “Yeah, I’m alright Timmy. What’s up?” she asked.

“Nothing, you just seemed a little on edge. I wanted to make sure that you weren’t going to chop someone’s head off or anything.” he chuckled softly, walking in and wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. Tim rested his head on the top of hers as she leaned back into him.

Rory’s fingers trailed up and down his arms as she relaxed in his hold, her mind drifting to the night before as she bit her lip in thought. Tim watched her, tightening his grip on her waist. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“Last night, and how much I enjoyed it,” she answered, looking up at him as she released her lip.

Tim let out a soft groan, “If you bite your lip again, I’m going to do it for you.”

“Since when are you this flirty Timothy?” she asked, biting her lip once more with a grin.

Tim turned her in his hands, as he held her against the sink of the bathroom. “Since I woke up to an empty bed this morning and not you.” he took her chin in his hand and tilted her face upwards towards him, grazing his teeth against the skin of her lower lip.

Rory let out a soft whine, “How rude of me, should we try again and see if I can get it right?”

Tim chuckled hearing her whine, this time kissing her fully as he bit down on her lip and pulled on it with his teeth a groan leaving his lips as she gripped his shirt tighter. “I would love to, but I believe we promised we’d be somewhere.” he grinned hearing her whimper, and pulled away from her completely, leaving Rory there in a flustered state trying to catch her breath as her heart rate sped up.

Rory stood there and watched him walk away, gripping the edge of the sink to keep herself up. What just happened? Did Tim just tease her, and then had the audacity to stop and leave? Trying to shake the thoughts of what she wanted to do to Tim out of her mind, she finished getting ready before walking down to the Batcave.

Once she got down there, Rory saw that everyone was down in the cave except for Bruce and Alfred. Barbara was still running the diagnostics on the arrows and the pictures as she was sat by the computer. The others were standing around the boxing ring that was set up, talking amongst each other.

“About time! What took you so long?” Jason called, seeing Rory come down the stairs.

Rory’s eyes met Tim, seeing the grin he was trying to hide from the others. He knew exactly why she was the last one down, seeing as it was his fault. “I don’t know Jay, I guess I was just caught a little off guard.” she crossed her arms and sent her boyfriend a glare.

Everyone around them could feel the tension between Rory and Tim, something had happened before they came down but no one was brave enough to ask about it. Wanting to diffuse it some, Dick stepped forward and put his hands in his pockets. “So, what are the rules?”

“Full contact? I’m always looking for an excuse to knock you on your ass Dickiebird.” Jason grinned.

“I have yet to lose to you princess, don’t get too cocky. The one with the most tap-outs win?” Rory asked, raising her brows.

Jesse shook his head. “If that’s the case, I’m out. I’ll lose in minutes, especially to Rory. Even injured she can still kick ass.” he chuckled.

“I’m out too, Rory seems to be in a mood and don’t want my nose broken again.” Roy chuckled.

The others laughed at his comment as Rory flipped him off with a grin. “Alright, who’s first?”

“I say Drake should go first, he’s been uncharacteristically quiet during all of this and he should fight Sonnet,” Damian spoke up. Tim turned to give his brother a confused look.

“What the hell Dami? Do you want me to die or something?” he asked, turning to his younger brother.

Damian looked Tim dead in the eyes. “You’re telling me that you haven’t noticed?”

Rory started laughing as she hopped into the ring. “Come on Dragon Boy, even I could see that. You aren’t telling me that you’re scared of your girlfriend now are you?” she teased.

Tim sent her a glare before hopping into the ring. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You’re still recovering, and I don’t want to hurt you Songbird.”

“You can just kiss it all better afterward, Timmy.” she grinned blowing him a kiss, tightening her ponytail, and blew the stray hairs out of her eyes. “Hit me with your best shot sweetheart.”

Tim shook his head with a chuckle before looking up at her and getting into a stance to spar. Rory watched as he set his feet, ready to strike. The two of them watched the other as they circled around the mat, assessing the situation. He had only managed to actually pin Rory once, and it’s because he had distracted her with accidental flirting that he was able to get her on the floor.

Tired of the quiet tension, Rory launched herself at him and went to punch him. Tim blocked it with his hands and sent a jab to her side which she dodged as he swung his leg around to try and knock her feet out from under her. Rory saw it coming and did a back handspring to get away from it in time.

As she landed, Rory hissed and pressed her hand against the would she angered. “Fuck, that makes things harder,” she muttered.

Tim gave her a concerned look. “Are you sure that you don’t want to stop Rory? I don’t want you overdoing yourself.”

“If I didn’t overdo myself last night, I’m not overdoing it now.” she teased.

Tim’s face went red, of course, she would throw something like that at him. The atmosphere in the room changed with her statement. They both seemed to have a new sense of determination between them, as they tried to suppress the feelings the crept up inside them.

Quickly, Rory threw herself at him and sent a series of punches and kicks that Tim managed to dodge or block before he caught her hand and held her against his chest tight enough that she couldn’t pull away.

“Is that the best you can do?” he taunted, a playful smirk on his face.

Rory had a deep urge to kiss him, an urge she fought hard against. If this was the game he wanted to play, then play she will. She bit her lip, knowing just how much it drove him crazy. Tim looked at her as she did it, and kept the groan that wanted to escape deep down.

“Why don’t you just kiss me?” he teased.

“I’ll consider it if you manage to beat me.” she grinned and kicked his ankle sending Tim to the floor, pinning him onto his back as she hovered over him. “But I doubt that’s going to happen.”

He rolled his eyes. “Bite me.”

Rory raised a brow at him. “Are you asking or telling me to?”

Tim was the one who’s face went bright red this time, he hadn’t expected her to have a comeback.

“We’re still here guys!” Rory and Tim turned and saw the others were watching them with crossed arms.

Slowly, she got up and held her hand out to Tim and pulled him to his feet. “I know, I was ignoring your presence if you didn’t notice.” she laughed. Tim helped her out the ring, making sure she didn’t hurt her stomach any more than she did, and wrapped his arms around her waist holding her close.

They watched as Jason and Cass fought, and she pinned him within seconds. Rory would have pinned Tim sooner if he wasn’t trying to flirt with her the whole time, but she didn’t mind. It was a nice change of pace from the normal business attitude everyone was carrying these days. The others all went through their rounds leaving Dick, Cass, Rory, and Damian.

The first fight was between Cass and Damian, and it was evenly matched. Damian had always had great skill when he fought, Rory could see it. Even at such a young age, Rory considered him as one of the best fighters she had seen. Damian might have been good, but Cass was better. That left herself and Dick to battle it out for the final round.

Tim helped her into the ring as Dick watched them, unsure if Rory was still good to do this. He saw the back handspring she did in her last fight and how she had almost landed wrong because of the pain in her stomach.

“Rory, I’m worried you hurt yourself last time. Maybe we should stop for the day.”

Rory huffed. “If one more person tells me to take it easy, I’ll make Jason eat his own guns.”

“Hey! Why am I always the butt of your insults and threats!?”

“Because you are an easy target, and I find it hilarious to pick on you.” she chuckled and turned her attention back to Dick. “Don’t you dare go easy on me Grayson, I can handle it?”

Dick sighed and nodded. “Alright, just let me know if it does get to be too much.” Rory gave him a nod. This time, it was Dick who attacked first as Rory dropped and rolled away out of his reach before kicking him in the back of the knee.

His knee hit the ground, but he flipped backward and landed behind her. Rory was quick enough to dodge his kicks, but it came at a cost. The pain in her stomach was back, and it wasn’t going away this time. She gritted her teeth, trying to hide how much it hurt. If she managed to end this fight, then she could stop, right?

Rory was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Dick make a move before it was too late. She held her arms up to block his hits but it wasn’t a strong enough defense and she fell onto her back with a small cry of pain.

Anyone who knew Rory knew that she did not show pain often, and when she did it was bad. Dick quickly called a timeout and ran over to check on her as Tim dove into the ring, landing at her side. “You’re done, I’m taking you upstairs to rest. Don’t bother fighting me on this, everyone here agrees with me and I’ll tie you to the bed if I have to.”

Rory let out a chuckle and looked at Tim. “Again, didn’t know you were into that kind of thing Timmy.” she grinned.

He laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he helped her sit up, keeping a hand on her back to support her. Carefully he pulled Rory to her feet before he picked her up and climbed out of the ring and carried her up to her room.

Once in Rory’s room, he sat on the bed and held her close. She curled into his chest and closed her eyes with a smile, Rory enjoyed these moments the most. Tim shifted so they were laying on her bed as his hand traced patterns on her back in circular motions. His eyes watched as she played with the fabric on his shirt.

“You’re being all cute and sweet, it’s making me want to kiss you.” she chuckled.

“Well, why don’t you?”

Rory rolled her eyes and leaned up, pressing her lips to his. Tim’s hands found her waist as she laid herself on top of his body, keeping the kiss soft but meaningful. Slowly she pulled away and looked into his eyes, cupping his cheek.

“I love you, Tim,” she said softly.

“I love you too Rory.” he pecked her lips, making her giggle.

She patted his chest as she carefully got up. “I want to take a shower, and you should join me. It’ll conserve water.” she grinned and walked to the bathroom, tossing her clothes to the floor.

Tim watched and got up with a chuckle. “Yes, because we are all about saving the planet.” He tossed his shirt in the hamper as he followed her.

“Well, we are superheroes sweetheart. It’s what we do.” she laughed.


	45. Chapter Forty-Four

“How did I get stuck on a team with you two?” Rory asked as she looked at her teammates. They were currently hunched behind one of the shrubberies outside in the garden, waiting to make their run for the hedge maze. Rory’s team consisted of herself, Cass, Roy, and Jesse. Barbara was on their team as she hid down in the cave, but the other team did not know about it yet.

Roy glared at his best friend. “You picked us, smartass. I have no idea why you thought the four of us were a good idea for a team.”

“Because Harper, I have three expert marksmen here. Me, you, and Cass. It’s the reason why I let Jay get away with getting a fifth person for his team. They might be good, but Jay is the only one who can snipe us out. The other four have to be closer to us, where we can hit them.” Rory explained. “Get the picture?”

Jesse tried to keep his chuckles in as he watched Rory scold his boyfriend. “The Three Musketeers are back at it again. We are hiding in the maze though, right?” he asked. “What’s the plan?”

“The plan is that we go in there and hide down different paths. Barbara will let us know when they enter the maze and we can take our final positions. If we play this smart, we will be able to knock out at least two of them.” Cass said, looking around.

_“The only downside is that if you get yourself cornered, then I won’t be able to get you out without letting the other team know I am working with you.”_

“Babs is right, we need to make sure we don’t get ourselves in a corner. Quick question though, are powers out of the question, or was that a detail we personally left out?” Rory asked.

“It was never said, but we already have The Oracle on our side. I think using my powers would make things a little unfair.” Jesse reasoned.

“All’s fair in love and war Popsicle. Besides, if you don’t actually freeze them, then they can’t say anything. But the environment? That could give us an edge.” Rory grinned.

The team went quiet before they slowly snuck into the maze and positioned themselves around it, making sure they had a quick way out and that they weren’t cornered. Rory hid in the middle area, on top of the gazebo where she could get a good advantage and get away quickly.

And to think that this all started with a simple side comment from Jason Todd.

_“So just how good is your aim Princess? I know Roy and Oliver have damn good aim but how good is yours compared to theirs?” Jason asked, leaning back in the chair._

_Rory looked up from her quiver of arrows that she was polishing and stared at him with a straight face. “My aim is better than theirs, and they both will openly tell you that.”_

_Jason looked to Roy and Jesse for confirmation and they both nodded. “Rory is good, it’s the only reason why he let her start training at thirteen. She had a natural talent, and within a year she was a formidable foe on her own. Merlyn even says that he hasn’t seen someone with such precision in a long time, and he doesn’t give out compliments easy.”_

_“Yeah, but just how good is that?” Jason barely had the chance to blink before something flew past his head and was stuck in the back of the chair next to his head. Looking, he saw that it was a pencil._

_“What the hell! You could have hit me!”_

_Rory rolled her eyes. “Look at it again, princess,” she said looking back at her quiver._

_Jason turned and saw that the pencil had stabbed through the middle of a fly. He turned to look at her, across the area with wide eyes. How the fuck did she see that from over there? “Alright, I’ll admit you’re good. But I don’t think you are better than me.” he grinned._

_Everyone in the cave rolled their eyes this time with an audible groan. They all knew this was going to happen one day, but they had hoped it wasn’t for a while. Roy and Jesse could tell you right off the bat who was the better marksman but kept it to themselves. They wanted Rory to show up their friend, and make him eat his words._

_Rory set her quiver down and looked at him. “You really want to do this? I don’t think it’s wise to embarrass yourself like this princess,” she said and got up. Jason got to his feet and looked down at her, a cocky smile on his face._

_“Let’s go test it then, shall we?” he asked, walking over to the target practice they had set up in the back spaces of the cave. Rory sighed and grabbed her bow and arrow before following him down, Tim walking at her side._

_“Do you think this is a good idea?” he asked her quietly._

_“If you’re worried that I’m going to lose-”_

_Tim cut her off. “No, it’s not losing I’m worried about. You’re still having trouble pulling your bowstring back, I just don’t want you hurting yourself,” he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to a stop._

_Rory smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “I can manage Dragon Boy, that just means you get to patch me up afterward.” she laughed and kept walking, Tim keeping pace with her._

_When they got down to the range, Rory saw Jason there with several items on a table. There was a spare bow, and two types of guns; your average handgun, and AK-47s, Jason’s favorites. “Alright princess, what do you want to shoot first?” he asked._

_“Let’s do bow first, I want to see you snap your arm with the string.” she grinned and pulled on her arm guards, before stringing an arrow on and lifting it into the air._

_The target was about 50 yards away, to her that was an easy target. There wasn’t a breeze in the cave at the moment, and she was calm and collected. Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow as she exhaled her breath. The arrow soared through the air and landed in the exact middle of the target._

_With a smug look, she turned to look at Jason who seemed to be impressed before aiming his own arrow and firing it. His arrow had hit the center as well, but it was just slightly to the left. “Jay, you want a real test to see how good I am with a bow? Watch this.”_

_Rory strung up another arrow and quickly fired it, her arrow splitting his right down the middle as it hit the target. She turned to look at him again and patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, most people can’t do that.” Setting her bow on the table, Rory watched as Jason let out a huff and set his down as well._

_“Alright, grab the smaller ones. Let’s see how well you do with this one, princess.”_

_Rory turned to look at Tim, who crossed his arms with a shrug as a smile spread on his face. She let out a giggle before turning towards the target and motioned for Jason to go first this time. The targets had been switched out for new ones, and she watched as he aimed his gun and fired three times._

_The bullets had landed in the head, throat, and chest of the target; all very lethal places and he gave her a smug smirk again, motioning for Rory to take her turn._

_“You seem very eager for someone who is about to get his ass kicked.” She didn’t even turn to look at the target before she fired three shots, each of them landing in the exact same spot as the one before. Right between the eyes, if the target had eyes at least._

_Jason’s brow furrowed. Rory hadn’t even looked at the target once this round, yet she hit the same spot all three times. Maybe she really was better than him. They both set the handguns down and he handed Rory one of the final guns before grabbing the last one._

_They made sure the guns were loaded and ready to go. Rory’s stomach was starting to hurt from firing her bow, and it was starting to hurt a little as she held up the AK-47 to get it at eye level. This time, she didn’t even wait for Jason to be ready. Rory lined up her shot before firing three times at the previous target, getting the same spots in the chest as well._

_Tim watched her before he walked over and helped her place it back on the table. The rebound from the gun must have made the pain worse, he wrapped his arms around her holding Rory against his chest as Jason made a sigh of defeat seeing that he had three shots all side by side._

_Apparently, Rory really was the better shooter. But that did not mean he had to like it. Leaning against the wall, Steph walked over and poked him on the cheek. “Jay, are you upset because you were beaten by a girl?” she teased._

_Jason scoffed. “No, she just got lucky,” he muttered._

_“That wasn’t luck, it was skill,” Rory commented._

_“If it was a battle, I would totally beat you princess.”_

_Rory turned her head to look at him, with a brow raised. “You think you could beat me in a game of assassin?” she asked._

_“I’ll bet my nice leather jacket that I can beat you.” he crossed his arms with a grin. Rory bit her cheek and nodded._

_“Alright princess, I bet one free secret that you won’t win.”_

That was three days ago. During that time, no one had been hit. Alfred and Bruce had to set some ground rules like no playing during meals and if they ruined something with their little balls of paint, then the replacement cost would come out of their allowance. That was why almost everything was covered in sheets to protect it.

Playing during patrol was banned for the simple fact that no one on Rory’s team was allowed out of the manor except for Cass and Jason’s team tried to surprise attack her, only to almost lose their heads with her sword in the process.

The final rule was that there would be no playing between the hours of midnight and six in the morning. Bruce and Alfred wanted them to at least try and get some sleep every night and knew that no one would if they thought they were left vulnerable to attack.

_“They’re entering the maze.”_

Rory grinned from her perch on the gazebo and listened quietly, for the crunch of the gravel as they walked. Her ears picked up on someone entering the area, and the second they were in sight she sent a shot to their chest, white paint splattering all over them. Her hope had been that it was Jason walking in, but of course, he had sent Stephanie as the lead for the group as bait.

Steph looked up and saw Rory laughing. “Really, Rory? How the hell did you get up there?” she asked,

“Shh, dead people don’t talk Steph!” she called as she jumped down from the gazebo and walked towards the back, keeping an eye out for someone who would try to shoot her. Hearing a twig snap behind her, Rory quickly turned and fired a shot hitting Tim on the stomach as she dodged the ball of paint he shot at her.

“Wow, right in the stomach. That hurts me Songbird.” he chuckled.

“Sorry Timmy, I don’t lose.” she grinned and took off out of the maze now that one of the exits wasn’t guarded. She ran for the back doors and crouched down, waiting for her team to sneak out before they had to stop for dinner.

One by one, she watched as her team left the maze the only casualty from her team was Jesse but she had managed to take out both Steph and Tim, evening out their manpower. “I didn’t see Jason in the hedge maze, did either of you?” she asked.

Cass and Roy shook their heads. “No, I saw Damian and Steph but the second you got Steph he took off. Was anyone else in the maze?” Cass asked.

“Yeah, I managed to get Tim was well. So we have an even amount of people excluding Babs of course.” Rory answered.

“Wait a minute, Barbara is on your team?!”

The three of them turned around and saw Dick standing there, with a confused look on his face. Before he could shoot them Roy got him, a pink splatter of paint on his face. “Sorry, Dick. You knew too much.”

Dick gave Roy a look before he shot him in the chest a red splatter of paint on him. Rory and Cass quickly got to their feet and ran, leaving Roy there. “Sorry Harper! I want to live!” she laughed as they ran towards the garage.

“Babs, what the hell happened?” she asked, as they hid behind one of Bruce’s fancy cars that were parked in the garage.

_“I think Jason is hiding somewhere keeping an eye out, it’s down to just him and Damian right?”_

“Yeah, we just shot Dick. He won’t tell the others that we are working with you, will he?” Cass asked.

Rory leaned against the car in thought. Either Jason and Damian had shot Roy, but they didn’t see them do it. Damian was the most obvious option, but that’s probably what those two wanted them to think. Barbara was probably right in thinking that Jason was hiding somewhere, and Rory would bet a good amount of money that he was somewhere high so he could see them.

There weren’t many high places except for the roof of the Manor. Knowing Jason and his flair for the dramatics, he was probably trying to snipe them out from up there. If their assumption was right, then they needed a plan to get him before he got them.

“So, what’s the plan?” Cass asked.

“Simple, we bring them to us. Get them out of their comfort zones.”

An hour later, Rory and Cass were hiding in the living room while they watched the exits in and out of the room. They had a plan, and if it went right then they had a very good chance of winning. They heard silent footsteps pass by the room, then stop right in front of the door.

The door creaked open the rest of the way, normally if it was Bruce or Alfred then they would announce they were entering the room so they didn’t get shot. But it was still silent, so that meant it was either Jason or Damian or possibly both.

Cass and Rory counted to three before jumping up to shoot whoever was there, but saw that the doorway was empty. Who the hell was there, and why couldn’t they see them?

Rory’s eyes looked around, she knew that someone was there. The only obvious option to this was that there was a couch on the other side of the room, but if Rory and Cass decided to try and cross the room they would be left in the open and most likely lose.

Squinting closer, she could see a tuft of dark hair poking up from behind the couch and Rory knew that there was someone behind the furniture for sure. “Hey princess, I know you and the gremlin are behind the couch. Come on out and we can settle this like men,” she called.

The tuft of hair did not move, and Rory narrowed her eyes. “You know I can see you right?”

“Are you sure you see me?”

Rory’s eyes widened, Jason’s voice came from behind her. Quickly she turned on her heels and her eyes met the end of Jason’s paintball gun, as he grinned. She frowned at him as Damian popped up from the other side and aimed his gun at Cass. Knowing that they had lost, Rory dropped the weapon and put her hands up.

“Congrats, you finally beat me at something Jay.” she chuckled.

The smug grin didn’t leave his face as he propped it on his shoulder. “I do have to say, it feels good. Now about that free secret, you owe me?” he grinned.

Rory rolled her eyes. “Alright, what do you want to know?” she asked, with a sigh.

“I want to know more about teenaged Aurora Queen, and why I should be glad I didn’t know her well.”

“Wait! Rory don’t say anything! If you are telling this story, then I need to get the popcorn!” Roy called as he ran past the room towards the kitchen with Jess on his heels.

She dropped her head with a sigh. Did she have to tell this story to everyone? Within minutes, everyone was in the living room curled up on the couches. Rory was sat on Tim’s lap holding his hand with Jason sharing the popcorn with Roy and Jesse. Apparently, everyone wanted to hear a little bit of her past, but she could see why. Rory never talked about her past, so it was a treat when she did.

“Alright princess, what do you want to know?”

“Roy said that I should be glad I didn’t know teenaged Aurora Queen. Why is that?” he asked.

“We kind of answered that question in Paris when the topic came up, I was a party girl that had way too much time on her hands. Simple as that.” she shrugged.

“No, you are going to give me more details. I already knew that I want to know what you did during that time.”

Rory glared at him. She wasn’t proud of how she acted in those two years she rebelled from Oliver and Dinah and was glad that they didn’t just kick her out and disown her. But she also had a knack for keeping out of the tabloids so no one knew it was her, to begin with.

“Alright fine. Roy, how would you describe me during that time?” she asked, looking at her friend.

“How honest am I allowed to be?” Roy asked with a laugh.

“Completely.”

“Alright, you asked for it. I made a daily wish, hoping that you would pull your head out of your ass and see all the good you had in front of you instead of whining and bitching about it,” he said, popping more pieces of popcorn into his mouth.

Rory’s mouth dropped as it turned into a smile. “Wow, the truth finally comes out huh? Do we not remember when you had your own phase, Roy? I think you still are in that phase.” she grinned. “Alright Jess, what did you think of Rory Queen at that time?”

Jesse’s eyes widened. “You don’t want me to answer that, especially with your boyfriend right there. He might try to kick my ass for it. But long story short, if you showed interest in her Rory would have probably tried to sleep with you.”

“Way to drag me under the bus, Jess. Proud to call you a friend.” she chuckled.

Jason raised his brow at what the two of them said. “You were a real problem child weren’t you?”

“Like you weren’t? I heard the stories of what the famous Wayne children have gotten themselves into. I have dirt on every single one of you from the simple fact that Oliver and Bruce gossip like old women when they are together. I have no doubt Bruce knows all about the stupid shit I did. But I don’t think he told you the stories of what I did, afraid you would try to replicate them. Example being, I bleached the batcape.” Rory laughed, leaning into Tim’s chest.

“Hey! I am not that bad!” Dick countered.

Rory stared at him in disbelief. “Says the guy who is supposed to be the oldest and the responsible one but you only end up egging the others on with the stupid things they do! Don’t think I don’t know about the time you Sparta kicked Jason off the roof when he was Robin.”

Jason turned to look at Dick. “I knew that was you, you motherfucker! I didn’t believe for a second that it was Firefly! What the hell Dickiebird!” he punched his shoulder, making Dick rub it as he winced.

“Hold on Jay, you are not off the hook. Oliver told me about the time you decided to put Bang Snaps under the toilet seats!”

Jason’s jaw dropped. “How the hell did he know it was me?! Besides, I have grown up a lot since then.”

Rory gave him a look. “That was a month before I got here. And he isn’t called the world’s greatest detective for no reason.”

The others went quiet. Who knew what kind of dirt Rory had on them, but none the less it was a comforting thought that Bruce would gossip about them to Oliver and Dinah. It showed that he did really care for them.

“What other things have these idiots done that the others don’t know about?” Damian asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

Rory turned to look at the young boy. “I have dirt on you too Wayne, or do I have to bring up the petting zoo incident?”

Damian’s face turned flushed. “Carry on, Sonnet.” he crossed his arms with a huff making the others laugh.

When Alfred came around to tell them that dinner was ready, he came upon the scene of them all yelling at each other for things that they didn’t know the others did all because Bruce and Oliver liked to gossip about their kids. A smile spread across his face, watching it glad that he got to be a part of their lives.


	46. Chapter Forty-Five

“You look beautiful in the moonlight.” Tim’s hand grazed down Rory’s side, sending shivers down her body. He watched as the moonlight danced off her skin, illuminating it in the darkness of her room. She was nothing short of the moon and stars to him, he could sit for hours tracing the various marks across her body like they were constellations in the night sky.

His favorite time of day had always been the night, it was when he felt free. He got to go out and protect those in his city along with people he cared about, but that also meant he got to have special moments like this with the woman he loved.

Rory looked at him, to see Tim was staring at her with a lovestruck look on his face. His soft blue eyes watched her every move as she shifted slightly, the moonlight bouncing off her bare stomach exposed from her shirt rising up her torso. Her fingers reached up and played with the strands that hung in his eyes.

She loved the time she spent with him alone more than anything, when it was just them Rory didn’t worry about hiding the real her from him. Tim Drake was one of four people that truly knew her, the other three being Oliver, Roy, and Jesse.

Oliver was her adoptive father, he raised her from the age of eleven training her to be the best version of herself she could be. Roy was her number two, her partner in crime or crimefighting so to speak. When they were younger, they were inseparable and they still were. Jesse was her first real love, she had bared her heart to him when they dated and it only strengthened their friendship.

With Tim, he was her childhood best friend. Looking back, he was the one person she trusted above the rest. Tim was always there for her when she needed him to be, even when they were kids. Rory remembered their parents constantly making jokes about how they would grow up and fall in love, starting a family of their own. That future wasn’t far off, but were they both ready for it?

She watched as his fingers trailed from her side and towards her stomach, his thumb tracing the outline of her hipbone. Slowly he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her hip softly, Rory’s hand still in his hair playing with it between her fingers. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Just enjoying the moment with you is all, how often do we get five minutes of peace these days?” his blue eyes flicked up to meet hers as he placed a kiss on her stomach now.

“I think you missed, my lips are up here Dragon Boy.” she teased.

Tim let out a chuckled before moving up her body and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss, wrapping his arm around her back to pull her closer. Rory’s lips moved with his as she played with his hair, cupping his face with the other. “I love you,” he murmured into the kiss, pulling her closer.

Rory let out a gasp feeling his fingers on the bare skin of her lower back, tracing soft circles there. Tim pulled away from the kiss painfully slow, Rory trying to follow his lips with her own wanting more. “It’s a good thing I love you too.” she chuckled.

He cupped her cheek, brushing her hair back softly. “I’ll be yours until the stars fall out of the sky, Briar Rose,” he whispered softly, “And even then nothing will be able to take me away from you.”

Rory’s heart swelled at his words, for a boy that was awkward once upon a time; he could make her blush with one single sentence. She loved that about him, Tim always made sure that she knew he loved her even if he told her every other minute, or bought her gifts, to just the way he treated her. Rory knew that he loved her, it was plain to see.

With a yawn, she pushed him onto his side and curled into the warmth of his body. “Goodnight Tim,” she muttered.

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, “Goodnight Rory, get some sleep sweetheart.” Tim watched as her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing evened into a deep sleep as he held her close to himself.

They had been dating for over six months now, July was nearing the end and they began dating on Christmas Eve. Of course, Tim had plans for their six-month anniversary but with what happened because of Slade, Rory was not allowed to leave the Manor, not that she wanted to. Seeing those pictures had really freaked her out. Sometimes he had to calm her down, as she panicked thinking that he was trying to get more compromising photos of them.

He wanted to do something special, but what could he do? Tim knew that she did not want to leave the Manor so he would have to come up with something to do while they were there. Banking on the fact that none of the others were asleep, he sent a mass text asking for ideas on what to do as he held his Sleeping Beauty beside him.

When Rory woke the next morning, she was surprised to see Tim asleep under her. It was a nice surprise, but a surprise none the less. Taking advantage of the moment, she curled into his side. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and the early birds were out singing. Rory closed her eyes as she listened to them sing their tune with the sounds of cicadas chirping away.

It was serene, and a nice change of pace from the dark and dreary Batcave downstairs, where all you heard was the screeching of bats along with drips of water from the ceiling. Her fingers ran through Tim’s hair softly, she knew that it was his favorite thing she did. It was just a habit for Rory to do it now because he asked her to do it so often.

Tim woke about an hour later, he had stayed up talking to the others as they tried to figure out what he could do to surprise her. It had taken about two hours but there was a plan and Rory was the only one who didn’t know about it.

He leaned into her touch as she played with his hair, a smile forming on his face. “Good morning Songbird.”

Rory let out a chuckle before kissing his cheek. “Good morning to you too Dragon Boy.” She leaned over and watched as he opened his eyes with a smile.

“Now that’s a sight I can get used to.” he teased.

Rory rolled her eyes, “Don’t worry. You’ll be sick of me real quick. Especially after we move into that apartment, speaking of which though have you actually told your family we are getting our own place?”

Tim was silent. He had been avoiding that conversation for a while now and for good reason. The way everyone reacted when Dick left for Blüdhaven the first time, and when Jason goes off the map for a mission? The others nonstop worry, especially Alfred. He always worried about them, he was a major part of their lives and knew that he would always worry about them.

“Please don’t tell me you were hoping that they wouldn’t notice you left? Tim, they will notice when the coffee stops getting drunk. They will miss your running commentary as well.” she chuckled sitting up to look at him.

Tim rolled his eyes playfully and took her hand. “We’ll get there when we get there. For now, let’s just enjoy this moment.” he pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her tightly as Rory tried to wiggle away while trying not to laugh.

“It’s cold, don’t leave me,” he whined.

“Tim, it’s the middle of summer.”

“It’s hot, come cool me down with your love.”

Rory took a deep breath as she laughed, “You are ridiculous. I’m hungry, let me go eat please?” she asked.

Tim shook his head. “No way Songbird, not until you pay the price.” he grinned.

“What is this, a troll bridge but a Tim bridge instead?” she laughed and looked at him. “What do you want?”

“Your lips are what I desire, a kiss from you I will never tire.” he grinned.

Rory rolled her eyes. “I thought Jason was the resident thespian?” she teased, leaning over him.

Tim shrugged. “I guess some of it rubbed off on me, now are you going to kiss me or not?” he grinned.

She leaned down and pressed her lips to his, in what was supposed to be a quick kiss. Every time she pulled away, Tim managed to pull her back in for more. Slowly she was losing her composure, the hunger in her stomach was replaced by one not for food but for Tim and he knew it.

His hands slid from her waist, down to cup her ass as she let out a surprised squeak making him chuckle against her lips. Her hands gripped his hair as her hips lowered to press against his, making Tim whimper softly wanting more of her. His grip on her tightened at her actions as she moaned his name softly, breakfast in the back of their minds.

“Hey Princess, is Replacement in here? I was told to fi- Holy fuck!”

Rory jumped off of Tim, biting his lip in the process as she fell off the bed with a loud thud and shriek of terror. “Jason, what the fuck was that for?!” she sat up on the floor rubbing the shoulder she landed on the ground with.

“Hey! Don’t you yell at me! You were the one breaking house rules!” he snapped.

“Like you haven’t done that before, and learn to knock you asshole!” she yelled.

Tim laid on the bed as he watched them argue over who was wrong, and he found it hilarious. He covered his mouth to hide his laughter as Rory turned and glared at him. “You think this is funny?”

Tim shook his head trying to keep the laughter in, only making her frown more. “Well, then no more for you. I want to go eat.” she got up and made her way to the door as Tim quickly got up and caught her hand.

“Oh come on Songbird, you know I don’t mean it. I thought you were cute.” he chuckled, pulling her back towards him.

“I am many things Timothy, but Aurora Queen is not cute,” she said and pulled out of his hold and went down to the kitchen leaving both Jason and Tim there alone.

“Smooth going there, Timbo.” Jason chuckled.

“Well, if you learned to knock I wouldn’t have this problem right now.” Tim retorted.

“No, instead you would be having a different problem.” he grinned and took off down the hall before Tim could get to him. When they got down to breakfast, Rory was already down there eating the waffles Alfred had made. Seeing the waffled put her in a better mood, but Rory was still salty over Jason walking in on them.

She didn’t even look up as the two of them entered the kitchen and kept eating. Rory didn’t even acknowledge either of them as they sat beside her and tried to get her attention. At this point, it was obvious that Rory was mad at them but no one other than those three knew why.

Tim gently poked her side, Rory trying not to squirm under his touch. She continued to eat her waffles, ignoring him still.

“Come on Rory, you can’t ignore me forever,” he said looking at her. Rory’s gaze didn’t move from her plate, refusing to acknowledge him. He leaned closer and kissed her cheek. “Do I have to start begging?” he asked.

Rory’s eyes shifted to look at him before looking at her plate once more and kept eating. Tim really wasn’t the one she was mad at, but she couldn’t deny that it was fun messing with him like this. She had finished her waffles and got up, pushing her chair away from the table to take it to the sink. While she was up, Rory thought it was a good idea to get herself a cup of coffee. Looking at the pot, she saw that there was enough for only one cup.

With the urge to be petty strong, Rory grabbed herself a mug and stared at Tim as she poured the rest of its contents into her mug with her eyes narrowed. The others at the table didn’t know what Tim did, but they knew for sure that she was mad at him.

“Damn, that’s cold,” Jason muttered.

Rory’s eyes flicked towards him, her eyes growing darker as she grabbed the last blueberry muffin and took a huge bite out of it. She knew very well that those muffins, Alfred’s blueberry muffins, were Jason’s favorite; and she knew that he got the message at just how mad at him she was.

Steph tried to fight back a laugh. “It’s not even noon and the two of you managed to piss her off to the point she is being this petty, what the hell did you do?” she asked.

“Yeah, princess. What happened?” Rory asked, taking a bit of the muffin staring him in the eyes.

“It doesn’t matter what happened, what does matter is that I messed up and I am sorry,” he said, his voice straining at the end as if it was physically killing him to apologize to Rory. She knew that deep down he did mean it, but he was more motivated by the fact that she was eating the muffin in front of him in order to torture him.

“Did Jason just apologize?” Roy asked from across the table.

“I don’t think I have seen her this petty in a long time,” Jesse added.

“Did we learn our lesson?” she asked, looking at Jason. He nodded quickly, eyeing the muffin in her hand. Rory let out a sigh and pulled out the muffin she hid earlier for this exact purpose and tossed it towards him.

Jason caught it happily and took a large bite out of it, crumbs falling out of his mouth with a sigh of delight. Tim looked at her with a raised brow, watching she drank the coffee. He got up from his seat and walked over, standing in front of her. Rory raised a brow, looking over the edge of the mug as she drank the coffee and stared right at him.

“You know you aren’t mad at me,” he said, looking down at her.

“I think my actions say different Timothy.”

“Fine then, Aurora. We both know you aren’t mad at me, you’re just frustrated.” he grinned.

Rory tried to keep her face from heating up, frustrated was right but he didn’t know how frustrated she was. Her eyes didn’t leave his as she kept glaring at him as she drank the coffee. The air was tense, and it was silent filling with whatever it was going on between Tim and Rory.

She removed the cup from her lips as Tim gripped her chin softly, pulling her in for a kiss. Rory tried to resist the kiss but ultimately failed as she set the mug down leaning into his body. She felt Tim’s hand slide around her waist and rest on the counter behind her as she kissed him only for him to pull back and walk away holding her cup of coffee.

Rory watched as he walked out of the kitchen in shock, he just used her to get to the coffee cup! “Timothy Drake! You get your ass back here!” she yelled and went after him. This wasn’t over and she was getting that cup of coffee back. Tim was halfway up the stairs by the time she left the kitchen and he laughed seeing the flustered look on her face.

“Hey, if you get to be petty so do I.” he grinned and kept walking up the stairs.

With a frown, Rory followed him up the stairs. “That was not fair!”

“Oh, like how Jason so rudely walked in without knocking was not fair?” he teased, heading for his room. She ran up the stairs to catch up with him as Tim opened the door to his room. He pushed it open and Rory followed him in slamming it shut.

Tim looked at her with a chuckle. “If I didn’t know better, I would say that you look mad Songbird.” he teased.

Rory clenched her jaw and walked over grabbing the mug and setting it on the desk before she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into another kiss. This one was short-lived, Rory kissing him long enough to stun him but short enough that she left him wanting more. Pulling away, she turned and left for her room Tim in a daze behind her.

“Hey! Get back here!” He went after her and pinned Rory to the door before she could even open it. Rory looked up at him with a grin.

“What, something on your mind Dragon Boy?” she asked.

“You know exactly what you were doing.” he kissed her again, holding her wrists back against the wooden door as he pressed himself against her. “And we’re going to fix that.”


	47. Chapter Forty-Six

Once Rory and Tim got their frustration out he had called Barbara, Stephanie, and Cassandra to come and keep her occupied while he got the surprise ready. The girls were currently in Rory's room crowded around her bed as they sat there and talked.

"So, why did Tim make you all drag me in and lock me in here?" Rory asked. 

"We promised that we wouldn't tell until it was time to, and you will know in about an hour and a half. Until then you are stuck with us, what should we do while we wait?" Barbara asked, leaning back in her chair as she ate a bag of gummy worms. 

"I want to know what exactly it was Jason did this morning that made Rory so petty," Steph asked with a laugh. 

Rory's face heated up at her words. If she told what Jason had done, that would mean she would have to explain why she was upset, to begin with, and Rory was not ready for that conversation. 

"Yeah, what did he do that made you so mad this morning?" Cass asked, crossing her legs while she was sat on Rory's bed. 

"Wait, is she blushing?" Steph grinned. 

Quickly, Rory grabbed a pillow and threw it at her face. "Shut up Steph," she warned, her face still hot.

"Wait, did he walk in on you and Tim doing something?" she grinned, leaning on the edge of the bed with wide eyes full of excitement.

Rory scoffed. "I don't have to answer any of you." she crossed her arms and turned away looking at the wall behind her. 

"Oh my god! That's why you were so pissed and Tim was so flirty!" she laughed. "He walked in on you guys doing it didn't he!?" 

Rory's face heated up even more. Even when she and Roy still lived in the same house, he never pestered her about her relationships like these three were. But then again, Rory had never really had close friends that were also girls. She missed out on that teenage girl talk that most normal girls had growing up, but Rory was never a normal girl. Even when she had her rebellious phase, Rory wasn't normal. 

It was always Roy she talked to about everything, but after moving to the manor she had gained more people she could trust with her secrets; three of them were in the room with her. They had seen Rory at her lowest when she had that scare months ago and it had brought them closer together. 

"Tim and I were not doing it," she snapped, turning to look at them. "We were just kissing. A lot," she said slowly.

The three girls looked at her and laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time it's happened here, those boys have no idea what knocking means. When Dick and I were still dating, Jason and Damian had a habit of not knocking at all. We just waited until it was just us in the Manor, but even then." Barbara chuckled.

With the knowledge that the two of them dated, Rory could see the lingering effects of their relationship. Dick and Barbara were as close as two people could be, they had grown up together and it was obvious that they still cared for each other deeply.

For Tim and Steph, it wasn't weird for them at all. They were kids when they dated, Tim was still Robin and this was before Damian came around. But as they grew, it was clear that they were better off as friends and not lovers. It was something Rory was grateful for because that meant that she and Steph would never have that kind of bad blood and heaven knows that Rory had enough of that in her life.

The girls had spent the next almost two hours just talking and gossiping about different things when there was a knock on Rory's bedroom door. Rory watched as Steph got up and answered it, seeing that it was Tim on the other side of the door.

"Hey, everythi-"

"No one sees the wizard." and Steph slammed the door on his face with a laugh. 

"Steph! Don't slam the door on my boyfriend's face!" Rory called out with a laugh as she got up to open the door, hip bumping Steph to the side.

When Tim saw Rory, his face brightened and he pulled her close to him. "Hey, how's everything going Songbird?" he asked.

Rory gave him a shrug. "You know the usual, girl talk and all. I'm sure it's very boring stuff to you." she chuckled.

"She told us what happened this morning!" Cass called from inside the room. 

Rory turned and flipped her off. "Thank you, Cass!" 

Tim laughed and kissed her cheek. "Well, the first part of your surprise is finished, if you are ready for it." 

Rory gave him a nod. "Of course! Do I need to grab anything?" she asked. 

"Just your shoes is all." he smiled.

She gave him a nod and walked back into the room to grab her shoes, ignoring all the looks and giggled from her friends. Shutting the door behind her, Rory slipped her shoes on before taking Tim's hand in her own and smiled at him. "Alright, let's go." 

Tim held her hand tightly as the two of them walked down the stairs and out the back doors. Rory looked around, what the hell was he planning and why was it outside? She watched as he led her down the path and into the hedge maze where there was a picnic waiting for them in the gazebo complete with a full lunch and even a speaker that played her favorite music.

Rory let out a gasp at the sight before turning to look at him, Tim looked a little worried but soon relaxed when he saw the smile spread on her face. "Tim, this is beautiful." she cupped his face and pulled him down for a kiss, smiling against his lips.

"I'm glad you like it, Alfred made most of it. The only thing he let me touch was the lemonade, but even then all he did was let me stir it." he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. Rory smiled, Tim had gone through so much to plan this for her. "I know you are not allowed out of the Manor right now, so I decided that I could do something to cheer you up." 

"I love it, come on. Let's go eat this wonderful meal Alfred prepared." she smiled and took his hand again, dragging him to the table sitting down. There were sandwiches, cut fruit, lemonade, and something hidden in a small container set off to the side.

Tim sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her to keep her close. He enjoyed seeing her so happy over something so simple, it showed just how simple of a person she was. Tim didn't have to shower her with extravagant gifts, he could show up with a simple rose and she would love it. But that didn't mean he wouldn't spoil her though, he wanted to give her the best and the best was what she was going to get.

He watched as she took a bite of the sandwich and tried to hide her smile at how good it was. Rory had never tasted a sandwich so good, she knew that Alfred had no superpowers but she was convinced that he was trained under Gordon Ramsey or something because his cooking was godlike. 

The two of them sat there and talked about everything under the sun from Tim's friends Bart, Kon, Cassie, and Althea. He explained how they all wanted to officially meet Rory as Rory and not as Arrowette or Grey Arrow or even White Arrow. But they were all in Jump City at the Titans Tower and were not able to come and visit.

Rory had met most of them already, the only ones being Bart and Cassie as Kid Flash and Wonder Girl, and only met Kon in passing once while she and Oliver were passing through. Althea was a new addition to the team, as the protege of Zatanna making her homo magi like her. 

The sandwiches were gone, along with the fruit and most of the lemonade had been drunk. That was when Tim grabbed the extra container and opened it. Rory's eyes widened when she saw what was hidden away inside. Of course, Tim had chocolate covered strawberries he was a sappy romantic at heart.

Rory looked up at him with an amused expression. "And I assume you want to feed them to me?" she giggled.

Tim blushed and gave her a nod. "Yeah, maybe." 

Rory took the container and set it to the side before she pulled him into a kiss once again. Tim was such a sweet person, and he was sure of himself a lot but there were a few moments when he would be really shy or nervous and she thought it was the cutest thing ever. Breaking the kiss, she looked at him. "Don't ever change who you are Tim, you are perfect the way you are," she said softly.

Tim smiled at her words. "I could say the same thing about you, I love you the way you are." 

"You're such a sap, now about those strawberries?" she giggled. Tim rolled his eyes and grabbed one, holding it up to her lips waiting for her to bite down on it. Rory leaned over and took a bite, catching the juice that fell, and licked her lips as she chewed it. "Those are good. You try one."

Rory grabbed one for him to eat, she was about to put it into his mouth when she quickly turned and bit it herself with a huge grin on her face. Tim scoffed and pulled her onto his lap, trying to take the container of strawberries from her. "That's not fair, they are not all yours Rory." he laughed.

Rory laughed and tried to get out of his hold, as she tried to keep the container out of his reach. "They are all mine Timothy! You'll have to go through me to get to them." 

Up in the Manor, Dick stood watching his younger brother fight Rory for the container of strawberries laughing when she threw one at his head. He didn't even notice when Jason and the others joined him there. 

"Nice to see her throw something at his head for once and not mine. I think I have a callous forming from all the things she has thrown at me." he chuckled, rubbing the spot she always hit. 

Dick laughed and looked at him. "It's nice seeing them be happy and normal for once, who knows how often that gets to happen around here." 

Damian huffed crossing his arms. "I don't see the point in throwing food, it's wasting all that work Alfred put in to make them." he watched as Tim failed to catch one or two before they rolled onto the floor.

"It's not that they are wasting them little D, it's that they are having fun and get the chance to be a semi-normal couple. They need moments like this if they want to stay together, relationships of any kind is a lot of work. If you don't nurture them then they will fizzle and there will be nothing left." Dick explained and looked between his two brothers. "As much as some of you hate it, it's why I try to at least be part of your lives. I don't want to be that family that hates each other because no one took the time to say a simple I love you." 

Damian looked up at Dick before looking out the window with a thoughtful expression. Dick was right, even though he would never say it out loud. His mother had never pushed to have that kind of relationship with him, deep down he knew that she cared for him and he cared for her as well but all they ever did was work on his training. When he came to live with his father, his whole life was turned around. All of a sudden he was surrounded by people that wanted to get to know him, even though he was not the easiest to get along with they still tried.

The three of them watched as Tim and Rory sat on the bench curled up and ate the remaining of the strawberries before cleaning up and bringing the stuff inside. 

Tim held Rory's hand the whole way, he never wanted to let her go. She was the best thing to ever happen to him and would do anything for her. Once they had dropped off the lunch stuff, they had walked to the home screening room with a bucket of popcorn and watched _My Fair Lady_ along with a movie of Tim's choosing. 

Five hours later, it was getting time to get ready for dinner. Rory was about to get up to go wash when Tim grabbed her hand. "What's up Timmy?" she asked.

"I have one more thing planned, you are to go to your room and change into whatever the girls laid out for you and not come out until I come to get you," he explained. 

Rory raised a brow and took a deep breath. "Really? Again? Tim, how many things are you hiding up your sleeve?" she asked with a chuckle.

"You'll never know, now get your cute butt upstairs before I drag it there myself." he chuckled and kissed her cheek, ushering her out of her room. Rory rolled her eyes before she walked out and headed towards her room, pushing the door open where she saw the girls standing there waiting for her.

"Are we going to do this again?" she asked with a laugh. The three of them nodded with a laugh as Steph held up a dress. 

Seeing the look on Rory's face, they let out a laugh. "Don't worry, this dress is modest and it is not white this time." Steph unzipped the bag and Rory saw a dark royal blue, lace design. She liked this one right off the bat and took the dress from them and headed towards the bathroom before she slid it onto herself.

Once the dress was on, she called in Cass who helped her zip it up on the back. Looking in the mirror, Rory saw that it was a high-low knee-length dress with a sleeveless, O-neck design. Out of all the dresses she had worn, this one was her favorite. The two of them stepped out before she was attacked by Steph and Barbara who began to do her makeup and hair. 

They had decided that it was better to go with a more simple look, she was not going into public, and with this dress, a more simple hairstyle was better. Barbara was sat in front of her, doing a smokey-eye look as Steph stood behind her pulling her hair back. 

Looking at the shoes, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was a pair of nice flats inside the box this time and not a pair of heels that made her want to cry. Rory slipped the shoes onto her feet and smiled, looking at the black diamond on her finger, remembering the day he gave it to her.

Rory assumed that she was wearing the daisy necklace he had also got her, but apparently, the girls had other ideas. She watched as Cass pulled out a velvet box that Rory knew held yet another necklace Tim had bought her. With a playful sigh, she took the box and opened it a smile crossing her face as she saw what was inside of it.

Inside was a golden necklace, the charm was a red rose with a gold stem to match the chain. There was a note tucked inside the box this time, and she pulled it out to see what it said.

_To my Briar Rose,_

_Happy six months, I was meant to give this to you a month ago but with everything that happened, I didn't get the chance. The second I saw this, it reminded me of you and I had to get it. Once you are ready, meet me on the roof._

_~Your Dragon Boy_

Rory tried to hide her smile the best she could, noticing the others were trying to get a peek at what the note said what the necklace was. They were given explicit instructions to not open the box, and seeing the determined look on his face the girls made the decision to wait until Rory saw it for herself. 

Folding the note, she set it aside and slowly pulled the necklace out and gave it to Cass so she could put it on her. Once it was on, Rory touched the rose softly with a smile. Turning to the others they gave her a thumbs-up as Steph snapped another picture.

"Really, Steph? Again?" she laughed.

Stephanie gave her a grin. "Hey, I want pictures in case someone manages to almost blow you up again. I'm still pissed at Harley for ruining that dress with her antics. Besides, this is something to show the kids one day you know?" she teased.

Rory narrowed her eyes and flipped her off, before laughing as she turned to walk out the room and made her way towards the roof. Truth be told, Rory had never been to the roof of the Manor but it must be a regular occurrence in the Wayne Household because one of the doors on the top floor was labeled roof.

She opened the door and walked up the stairs, her heart beating so hard it wanted to jump out of her chest. It was needless to say that Rory was nervous and excited about whatever Tim had planned. What the hell could he get accomplished on the roof?

There was one more door and she pushed it open to see that there was a table with a candle-lit dinner there waiting for her. Tim stood by the table, and a huge smile spread on his face once he saw Rory. Quickly he walked over and offered her his arm, "You look beautiful." 

Rory smiled and kissed his cheek, "You look just as amazing yourself Timmy, don't knock yourself on it." 

"I see that you got my gift, do you like it?" he asked, as he led her towards the table.

She nodded quickly "I love it, Tim, the rose is beautiful." 

Tim stopped and took her waist, looking down at her. "I'm glad you love it." he leaned down and kissed her softly, his hands pulling her waist closer as she ran her fingers over the fabric of his top softly stroking his chest.

"I also see that you have brought me up here for a candle-lit dinner under the night sky." she smiled, "It's lovely." 

He led her to the table and pulled out her chair so she could sit. "Well, I had other plans but I decided that I would rather keep you safe here at the Manor. I can still treat you while we are here, there is no rule saying that I can't." 

Rory sat at the table and watched Tim lovingly as he lifted the tops of the plates to reveal her favorite food, beef stroganoff. He really was trying to make up for not being able to take her out, but she preferred this. To her, a simple dinner like this was more intimate than going somewhere fancy not that she didn't enjoy going out places. 

They sat on the roof as they talked to each other about many different things that they didn't get to talk about earlier at lunch. Rory laughed at every lame joke he made, and he showered her in constant compliments and praise the entire night from how she looked to just telling her how much he loved her.

The moon had come up and was shining down on them once they had finished eating. Tim wiped his mouth and stood up, offering his hand to Rory. She gave him a confused look as she took his hand stood to meet his gaze as he led her over to an empty spot. He hit play on something and music began to fill the air. "May I have this dance?" 

Rory laughed softly and took his hand as he began to lead her around in a waltz. Bruce had galas and parties often and they danced together quite often, but it was different when it was just them. They weren't acting for cameras, and neither of them had to worry about someone trying something on Tim or Rory because they were famous. 

He held her close to his chest, as he looked into her eyes that shone with the moonlight. "I love you Aurora Queen, never forget that," he whispered.

"How could I when you are always here to remind me? I've never loved someone as I love you Tim, and honestly, it scares the hell out of me. I'm not perfect, I'm far from it and yet here you are constantly telling me that you do and that you'll never leave me." she said, looking up at him. They had stopped dancing now, but Tim still kept her close to himself.

"I will always be by your side to tell you that I love you, Rory. You're the love of my life, and I am thankful every day that you came back into my life so I got the chance to fall in love with you. I would never want anyone but you, you're it for me Briar Rose." he smiled.

Rory wiped away the stray tears as Tim leaned down to kiss them away. "I will never love anyone else the way I love you." With that, he pressed his lips to hers kissing Rory with all he had in him. His arms wrapped around her waist as her hands snaked up to cup his neck pulling him impossibly closer. 

Tim pulled away from the kiss first, with a smile on his lips. "We should clean up our mess Briar Rose," he muttered. Rory looked up at him, a small grin playing on her face.

"We should, but we could leave it for the others to clean up and we go back to my room and you help me get this dress off." she bit her lip, watching Tim's eyes shift down to her lips. His grip on her tightened as he took her chin, pulling her into a kiss once more.

"I like that idea much better." 


	48. Chapter Forty-Seven

"Come on Bruce! You haven't found anything because I am not out in the field for him to follow!" Rory said, following Bruce down the steps to the cave. "I've been given a clean bill of health by the doc and yet you refuse to let me out!"

"Rory, we are not having this conversation again. You live under my roof, you will follow my rules," he replied, the batcape swaying behind him as he walked.

"I follow ninety-two percent of your rules, and besides we are having this conversation again because I don't understand why you want to keep me inside!" she snapped. 

The others were already down in the cave, watching as Rory followed Bruce around while she pestered him with questions. It was mid-August now, and Rory was completely healed from her encounter with Deathstroke. She had thought that was the main reason he kept her inside, but Rory had the sneaking suspicion that there was something more he was hiding from her in true Bruce fashion. 

"Just let me out for a couple of hours and you can follow me around! Slade isn't showing his ugly face because he knows you are keeping me locked up in the Manor! He's after me, what happens when he changes tactics and goes after the others instead?" she asked, following after him as he walked towards the computer.

"Can you trust that I am doing this to keep you safe? Oliver put you in my care and I am going to make sure he gets you back in one piece. We have had too many close calls with you as it is, I am not taking any more risks." he said, setting his cup of coffee down as he typed on the keyboard looking for different things.

"I will trust you when you quit treating me like a child! I'm an adult Bruce and I am not one of your kids. I abide by your rules out of respect, but if you can't give me the same and actually let me in on whatever the fuck is going on in that bat brain of yours then I'll figure it out myself." She snapped.

The cave was deadly quiet, Rory's voice rang as it bounced off the walls. The others all stared at Rory with wide eyes, not many people would straight up yell at Batman like that and get away with it. In fact, the only people who got away with it were his kids, but even then they knew that there were limits. 

Bruce took several deep breaths, trying to quell his anger. Rory had a point, he knew that it was wrong to keep her in the dark but there were things that he couldn't just tell her out in the open. He was still trying to solve the mystery of why Jesse disappeared the night Oliver's safe house went sky high, only to find him hours later walking around the bowery district. There was something going on, and it was safest to keep her and Jesse where he could watch them both.

"Rory, I know you are an adult and I know that you are not mine. But I need you to trust me when I say that there are things I need to figure out before I let you back into the field," he said, trying not to raise his voice at her. That was the last thing he needed to do.

Her eyes narrowed at him, for a man that seemed to preach trusting each other as a team he trusted her the least out of them all. Rory constantly felt out of the loop and it was getting on her nerves. "Fine. I'll be in my room, reading the same fucking books again because I can't even go out and buy more."

"But we can order more for you," Damian spoke up.

"That's beside the point gremlin child!" she snapped as she stormed at the steps, slamming doors as she walked to her room. 

The cave had gone back to being quiet at his kids gave him a look. "Nice going there Bruce, now she's pissed. I'll go make sure she doesn't try to sneak out again." Dick muttered and walked up the stairs to go try and talk to her.

Tim and Jason crossed their arms, alongside Barbara and Dick were the only ones that knew what Bruce was hiding from her. They had all thought it was weird that Jesse had disappeared without a trace to show up on the docks, especially when he was part of the explosion too. 

It killed Tim to keep this from her, he hated the idea of keeping a secret from her but he had to agree that even talking about it with Jesse in the same building was dangerous and Rory couldn't join them on patrol and keep Jesse in for an unknown reason. Roy was allowed out, but that's because Jason always on his tail and he came out of the explosion with the least amount of injuries.

Bruce looked at the two of them, "You two understand where I'm coming from right?" he asked.

Jason hated it, but he did agree with Bruce. Jesse was one of his closest friends, and he could see what Rory and Roy didn't. He had been acting weird since that night, and it worried him. Jason wanted to figure out what was wrong with his friend while keeping the other two safe.

"Yeah, we get it B, but we don't like it," he answered.

Tim sighed and looked to the door Rory and Dick left through, he wanted to be the one to go comfort her but there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be able to keep the secret from her. "We can't keep it from her much longer though, Rory is too smart for that. The only reason she hasn't figured it out herself is because I never told her what had happened, and she is too mad to think about it with a clear mind." 

"I know you don't like it, neither do I. I need to do what is best to keep her safe, and if she hates me for it then so be it." 

Tim and Jason let out a sigh as they pulled on their masks. "When Dick gets back, the three of us will head to and try to find more clues," Jason said, grabbing his helmet.

Upstairs, Dick followed Rory as she stomped up to her room and slammed the door before he could follow her in. "Come on little arrow, let me in," he asked.

"Go away Dick, I don't want to hear whatever bullshit excuse Bruce told you to say to me." she snapped.

"Bruce didn't send me up, and it's not bullshit. Just let me in and we can talk about it okay?" 

There was silence before Rory opened the door, looking up at him with a glare. "What do you want Grayson?" 

Dick walked into her room, looking around before he shut the door behind him. "I understand why you are so upset, believe me, I do. When I was Robin, he would ground me from missions and patrol for various reasons. But I learned that when he didn't tell me why it was because he couldn't not that he wouldn't." he said sitting on her desk chair.

"So you're saying that I am benched because of something he can't tell me? What the hell is so bad that he can't tell me?" she asked, plopping down onto her bed.

"There are things at work that we don't understand, and it involves you and Slade. We need to figure it out before we let you in on it, if we do this wrong it could get you killed and that is something we don't want," he explained.

Rory let out a huff as she hugged her pillow. "I get it, but it's annoying being left out of the loop. I barely get to see my own boyfriend lately because he is working overtime, I just want to help. But you have to agree with me, if I don't show up soon Slade is not going to wait much longer. He knows who I am close to, and that puts a target on everyone's back especially Tim's. If he gets hurt because of me..." 

Dick saw the expression on her face and gave her a sad smile before wheeling the chair towards her. "Rory, look at me. Nothing is going to happen to Tim. If you want, Jason and I will keep him close to us to make sure he gets nowhere near him okay?" 

Rory wiped the stray tears. "Alright, and you have my word that I will not sneak out of the Manor. But tell Bruce what I said, I know I'm right. He won't wait for me forever, and I don't want to know what he will do to get me out again." 

He gave her a nod as he ruffled her hair, a smile playing on his face. "Sure thing little arrow, now you have my permission to go raid Jason's personal library to find something to read while we are out okay?" 

Rory laughed, "Thanks Dick, you're really good at this big brother thing you know?" 

"That's what they tell me." He chuckled as he got up, leaving Rory alone in her room. He walked down to the cave to see that Tim and Jason were ready to go, as he slid into his suit. Placing the domino mask on his face, he looked at Bruce.

"She has a point though, Slade is not going to wait that much more for her to show her face. He is going to come after one of us to get to her eventually, and we need to tell her soon even if we have something or not." Dick muttered to Bruce as he passed him, walking towards his bike.

Bruce sighed as he put the cowl on her head. "I know, if we find nothing tonight then I will tell her personally once we get back."

Dick nodded as he climbed onto his bike and kicked it to life as he drove out with Jason and Tim at his side. "I told Rory that we would keep Red Robin with us tonight, she's worried Slade will try to something to him to drag her out of the Manor," he said through the com.

_"Sounds like something he would do, besides we will be able to cover more ground with the three of us as long as we don't stray too far from each other." Red Hood said._

_"I feel like we keep missing something, why don't we go back to the safe house site and retrace everything from there to where we found him." Red Robin said._

Nightwing gave a hum of agreement, "Let's start there." he said and made a turn to head towards the exploded site. As he rode, Red Robin and Red Hood followed right behind him. They heard the thunder crack across the sky, as the rain began to fall hitting their faces while they drove.

_"Of course it had to fucking rain on the way there." Red Hood muttered under his breath._

_"What? Did you leave your insulated leather jacket back at the cave?" Red Robin teased._

_"What your mouth replacement or you might just take wrong turn and land right in the harbor."_

"Can you two not fight for five minutes? We aren't even there yet and you're fighting like kids." Nightwing said, rolling his eyes as they pulled to a stop at the site of what used to be Oliver's bigger safe house. 

Hopping off the bike, the three of them took a deep breath. "Alright boys, let's get looking for clues," he said as they walked around looking for a sign of something. 

Red Robin walked over towards where they had found Roy, he felt like he missed something. There had to be something more to this, his head wasn't in the best place that night with the worry about Rory present in his mind at that time. Maybe taking another look with a fresh mind would help him. 

He ran his hand over the gravel where Jesse was, the ash patterns were still weird. There was a patch where it was really light like it was covered by something. Could something have landed on him like it did with Rory, and the ash fell on whatever landed on him instead? Looking around, he saw that there was another large slab of debris and walked over towards it.

Just from a glance, it matched the shape of the hole Jesse was in. The rain was falling heavier than before now, and it pattered against the concrete but that wasn't what caught his attention. What had caught his attention was that there was a different sound that wasn't the sound of rain hitting concrete. It was rain hitting the glass.

Red Robin looked around the floor before he found a syringe of sorts that they had somehow missed before. "Hey, guys! I found something!" he called. 

Nightwing and Red Hood turned and ran over to him, looking at the syringe in his hand. "Does this look familiar to either of you?" he asked.

Nightwing carefully took it from him and twirled it in his hand, "Yeah this looks really similar to the stuff Mad Hatter uses to control people." he thought aloud.

"I thought he was in Arkham?" Red Hood asked. He was almost certain that the creep was still there, Red Hood was the one who had out Jervis there last time after all.

"He is, but that doesn't mean someone else can't use his tech and serum. If Jervis left his stuff unattended, then it's free for anyone to grab if they knew where to look. Slade has been following us for a long time, it's entirely possible that he found out about Jervis and his tech and decided to use it to his advantage." Red Robin explained.

"But I thought Bats tested Jesse for any unknown toxin in his body?" Nightwing asked looking at the other two.

"Not exactly, we ruled out Tetch from the beginning because we knew he was still in Arkham. With the likes of Scarecrow and Ivy out and about still, we tested him for their toxins first and it came back negative. If Jesse really has some of Jervis' mind control serum in him, then we need to get Rory out of the Manor now." he said and got up and ran towards his bike.

Nightwing pressed the comm in his ear, connecting to Barbara and Bruce. "Guys, we found something. The popular theory is that Slade got a hold of Mad Hatter's mind control serum and gave it to Jesse, you need to find him and test him. And keep him away from Rory!" 

Barbara looked around as she listened. No one was in the Manor except for her, Rory, Jesse, and Alfred and she was the only one in the cave. "No one else is here Nightwing, are you sure that it's his?" 

_"We're positive Babs, we found a syringe with his logo on it. Tell Alfred that he needs to get Rory out of there, and away from Jesse." Red Hood said quickly._

Barbara turned quickly and grabbed the phone to call Alfred, but the power shut down. She looked around, trying to see in the dark. Grabbing the flashlight at her side, she pushed her chair around trying to see where she was going. Barbara was trapped downstairs in the cave, with the power out which meant she couldn't get out with the elevator until the emergency power came on and that was going to take a couple of minutes.

Grabbing her cell phone, she dialed Rory who she hoped had her phone on her, and charged.

Rory had been curled up in her bed reading one of Jason's books that she kidnapped, courtesy of Dick when the power went out. She sat up and looked around, checking her phone. The storm must have knocked it out, figuring that Alfred needed help she got up and turned on the flashlight on her phone before exiting her room.

Looking around, she saw nobody around. Alfred and Jesse were nowhere to be seen and Babs was down in the cave. If the Manor had no power, then the cave might be down too, and she knew Barbara was stuck down there until the power came back on. She was on her way to the stairs down when her phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

_"Rory? Thank god, you answered. Is everything okay?" she asked quickly._

"Yeah, Babs I'm okay. A little thunder never scared me, what about you? Are you okay?" she asked, walking into the study.

_"I'm okay, just stuck in the cave until the backup generator kicks on. Have you seen Jesse or Alfred?" she asked._

"No, I was in my room reading Jason's copy of _Frankenstein._ Why? What's up?" Rory looked around as she opened the path to the cave, only for it not to work. Of course, it wasn't going to work, the power was out. "I'm stuck up here until the power comes back, the entrance is blocked."

_"You need to find Alfred, and stick to him. Do not leave Alfred's sight, Rory, you're in danger."_

Rory looked confused and was about to ask when her phone blinked and died. Hitting the phone with her hand, she let out a groan. The stupid thing still had some juice left, why the hell did it die?

Even though the Manor was dark, Rory felt a presence behind her and she knew for a fact it was not Alfred. Barbara had said that she was in danger, but who was she in danger from that she needed to find Alfred and stick to him like glue? Rory tightened the grip on her phone, ready to throw it at whoever was behind her.

She heard a footstep and quickly, she turned and launched her phone at the person behind her as she dodged away. When she heard a familiar ow, she recognized it as Jesse. She peeked over the side of the chair and saw him rubbing his head as the lightning lit up the room. "Oh, it's just you," she said with a sigh of relief.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked with a chuckle. 

Rory gave him a shrug. "Babs said I'm not safe and I need to find Alfred, do you know where he is?" 

Jesse shook his head. "No, but I know a good place to hide if you need to stay safe." he offered his hand out to her with his signature smile, the same one that made her fall for him years ago. Rory looked at his hand then back at him.

She was about to take his hand when Barbara's warning rang through her mind. She had told her to stick to Alfred, Rory didn't hear anything about Jesse. Now that she was thinking about it, he had been acting a little strange but she had just brushed it off as cabin fever. But with the warning she got before her phone died, she wasn't so sure it was cabin fever.

"I think I'm going to go look for Alfred," she said as she walked towards the door, only for Jesse to block her way. Rory tried to go around him, but Jesse wouldn't let her leave. This was starting to get freaky. "Jess, what the hell is wrong with you? Halloween isn't for another two months, why are you trying to freak me out?" she asked.

"I'm doing what I was told, Aurora," he answered.

Rory's eyes widened. It was Jesse she needed to hide from, but he had her cornered in the study and she was weaponless while he had his meta powers. "And what is that Jess?" she asked.

"To bring you to Slade Wilson."

Rory grabbed the closest thing to her and threw it at him, as Jesse shot a blast of ice at her. Dodging away, she barely managed to get away from it. Looking around, Rory couldn't see any other way out of the study that wasn't the door and the window but that was on the other side of the room. 

Jesse continued to shoot ice at her as Rory managed to keep herself from getting frozen in the process, as she tried to make a break for the door. It was hard for her to fight him off with the power out and lighting only illuminating the room every few minutes. Grabbing one of the heavier items, Rory threw it at the window and flinched as it shattered everywhere, she was about to jump out it but Jesse beat her to it and froze the window shut getting a portion of her arm in the process. 

Looking around, Rory truly was trapped. Her best bet was to make a break for the door and try to knock him out while trying to not get frozen in the process. Jumping up on the chair, she flipped and kicked him in the head, watching him fall to the floor. Taking this as her chance, Rory pushed the door open and ran looking for Alfred.

The power was still out, and she kept bumping into various things as she ran. No doubt that Jesse was behind her, looking for a chance to catch her. Rory ran towards the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife and hid behind a counter, putting her hand over her mouth to muffle her breathing.

She heard the door creak open, and her heart rate picked up. Rory wasn't prepared to hurt Jesse, but she would have to if it meant that she stayed out of Slade's grasp. Jesse's footsteps echoed across the quiet Manor, as he got closer to her.

"Come on Aurora, you're making this harder than it needs to be. Just come on out and I won't hurt you, or your little boy toy." he grinned, looking around. "I promise." 

Rory jumped out from her hiding place and threw the knife, aiming for his shoulder but to her surprise he caught it. Her eyes went wide as he flipped it in his hand before he threw it back, Rory ducking just in time to see that it would have gone through her throat if she didn't duck.

Getting up, she ran through the second door out of the kitchen and dining area before heading down to the garage. If she managed to get a pair of her keys, Rory would be able to drive around to the waterfall entrance to the cave. She threw open the door to the stairs down and began to run down them. 

Jesse must have thought ahead because they were covered in ice. Rory's feet slid out from under her as she tumbled down the long flight, hitting the bottom with a loud thud. If Barbara had time to warn her, then that meant Tim and the others managed to find something and they were on their way back right? 

Rory gripped her side with a groan, that was going to bruise. She looked to the top of the stairs, where she was Jesse standing there with a grin on his face. The way the lightning illuminated his face, he looked straight out of a horror movie. Carefully, she got up and missed the icicle he threw at her missing her shoulder by inches.

She darted to the key box on the wall and searched in the dark for her keys. Her hands fumbled with the different sets, as she searched trying to find hers. Jesse's feet thumped against the steps slowly as he stalked her, he knew that there was no way she was getting out if the power didn't come back on. The garage door was automatic and needed the power to work.

Rory managed to find her keys and hopped on her bike and turned it on, swerving it away from the garage door. There was a window she could get out if she was fast enough. Without looking back, Rory revved her bike and drove it through the window as she covered her face from the shattering glass.

Her body was met with the heavy rain outside as she drove down the path and towards the entrance to the cave. There was no way Jesse was going to catch her right? Wrong.

As the entrance to the cave came into sight, out of the corner of her eye she saw Jesse ride down the hills on a slide of ice to try and cut her off before she could make it in. Rory could see that the emergency power was back on, and if she could make it in before he got to her, she would be safe with the security of the Batcave.

Jesse's eyes followed Rory as she picked up speed, going for the entrance to the cave. Forming a large icicle in his hand, he launched it at her. Rory saw it coming and swerved hard enough that it missed her, but got the back wheel of her bike, sending her across the gravel drive and rolled towards the moat that laid beneath the waterfall.

Rory tried to push herself up, this was a bad place to be. With all of this water at his disposal, Jesse was even more dangerous than before. With a groan she managed to roll onto her back, only to let out a scream as she saw Jesse above her. Rory tried her hardest to get up, but he kicked her to the floor and tried to freeze her.

She grabbed his wrists, pushing them up so they didn't hit her, but that didn't last very long. After she dived her bike, her body was weak and she was losing as Jesse wrapped his hands around her throat.

Rory wriggled under him, trying to pry him off her as he strangled her.

Tim drove up the path, ahead of Dick and Jason when he saw two figures on the ground outside the path in the cave and recognized Jesse's dark hair. He stopped his bike and dove off of it, running for Rory and Jesse. Grabbing one of his batarangs, he threw it at Jesse lodging it in his shoulder. 

Jesse let out a cry of pain, his grip on Rory faltering long enough that she was able to punch him, and kicked him off of her. Seeing Tim there, and the others behind him she rolled towards them as Tim helped her up. Dick and Jason went after Jesse, only for him to disappear in the woods out of sight.

Bruce pulled up to the cave seeing three bikes tossed to the side, and Rory's crashed one and flew out of the Batmobile. He saw Jason and Dick returning from the woods as Tim held Rory close to his chest. "What happened?" he asked, walking over to them.

"It was Jesse, he was trying to kidnap me. He would have if these guys didn't show up, will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on and why Jesse just tried to kill me?" she asked, looking between them all. 

Steph, Cass, and Roy all pulled up seeing the traffic on the way into the cave and ran over, seeing the damage. "What the hell?" Roy asked and saw Rory curled into Tim's chest. "Where's Jess?" 

Rory looked down to avoid Roy's gaze, how could she tell him that Jesse had tried to kidnap her and take her to Slade? Tim looked down at her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he held her close to him. "I've got you." 

"All of you, in the cave now. We have a lot to talk about, and it involves Jesse." Bruce said, helping the boys get their bikes upright as they all made their way into the cave.


	49. Chapter Forty-Eight

"What the hell Bruce!?" Rory and Roy both looked at Bruce Wayne with confused expressions. "Why did you keep us in the dark about all of this when he is our best friend?" she asked, throwing her hands into the air and winced. Her tumble down the stairs earlier that night had left her stomach and ribs in bruises, and they hurt.

"Because, if Slade had control over him that means he has to have contact with Jesse somehow. If he overheard what we were thinking, then he would change his plan and catch us all of guard." Bruce explained leaning against the bat computer.

"Oh, so being chased through the Manor with my best friend throwing knives and shit at me isn't catching me off guard? That's great to know, but I want to know what the fuck it is then!" she snapped.

"He's my boyfriend and you didn't bother to let me in on it as well?" Roy asked while he stood next to Rory. 

"I'm sorry to the both of you, and I admit that you were right when I should have told you sooner. But there was no guarantee that the two of you wouldn't raise suspicion. That's why I kept you inside Rory, I couldn't let you out and not Jesse." he explained.

Rory crossed her arms, leaning against Tim as he held her close to his chest. Watching Rory almost get strangled and then walk through the Manor to see what he tried to do to her, set him on edge. She was almost killed again, but this time he was there to save her before something bad happened. He rested his head on her shoulder as he tightened his grip around her waist.

It was yet to be revealed that he, Jason, Dick, and Barbara knew about it and Tim wasn't looking forward to it at all. He had a bad feeling that Rory would be mad at him for keeping it from her, but he did it to keep her safe.

"So what do we know?" Roy asked.

"We found an empty syringe that once belonged to Jervis Tetch, more commonly known as the Mad Hatter. His specialty is mind control, but it's different than Ivy, Scarecrow, or even the Joker's toxin. When we ran tests on the three of you, he ruled him out because he is still stuck in Arkham." Dick spoke up.

"The reason we ran the tests, to begin with, was that when we found the two of you, Jesse was nowhere to be found. In fact, we found him in the Bowery across town. That's what started our suspicion about him being more involved than we initially thought." Jason added.

"Hence why we went back tonight to look. I told Barbara to get you out of the Manor before he had his chance to hurt you. I guess he must have been listening because she said the power went out almost right after we told her to get you out." Tim said.

Rory turned to look at him. "You knew?" 

Tim bit his lip and nodded. "I wanted to tell you, I did Songbird but the risks were lower with you in the dark. I'm done taking risks with you and your life," he said.

She pulled out of his hold and looked at him. "What the hell happened to no secrets between us huh? Or was all of that just a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you?" she asked.

"Rory, I hated keeping it from you! We all thought it was safer that you didn't know and were going to tell you about it all after we got back from patrol regardless if we found something or not," he said, grabbing her hand. 

"Tim, I deserved to know before he tried to kill me! I wouldn't have let myself be put in that kind of position to be hurt in the first place, I got lucky I only got freeze burn on my arm and strangled. I get you wanted to protect me, but I can protect myself if I know what the hell is going on." she said looking at him. Rory felt his fingers interlock with hers as if he was scared she was going to run.

He let out a sigh and dropped his head. "You're right. If anyone can protect themself, it's you and we all should have trusted you more. But with Slade controlling Jesse, he would have picked up on things way faster than normal and noticed that we were onto him than just killing Jesse instead." 

Rory's gaze dropped to their hands, and how they seemed to fit perfectly together. His thumb brushed over the black diamond that rested on her finger while they stood there silently. She understood what he was saying, in the long run, it was safer that she didn't know but Rory hated being kept in the dark more than anything. When she was younger, Oliver kept things from her thinking that it would give her nightmares. Little did he know that she had constant nightmares from the day her parents died.

"I love you, Rory, I just want to keep you safe."

She looked up at him and gave Tim a soft smile. "I love you too Tim, but maybe keep me in the loop next time okay?" she asked. He nodded and kissed the back of her hand.

"Deal." 

Rory rolled her eyes and looked at Bruce. "This is a one-time thing, so you better enjoy it while it lasts. I am sorry for yelling at you earlier, I wasn't exactly nice." she rubbed the back of her neck and looked at the ground. "I was upset for being kept in the dark and it wasn't fair I took it out on you when you are letting me live here and haven't kicked me out. Heaven knows I have given you plenty of reasons to do it." 

Bruce gave an amused smile. "Apology accepted, and for the record, you have officially cleared for patrol again." 

Rory's head picked up. "Really!?" 

Bruce gave her a nod. "You can start back up tomorrow, but for now try and rest while you can. We're in for a couple of long nights if we are going to find Jesse and Slade," he answered and turned back to the computer.

She turned and saw that Roy was still frowning next to her. Slowly, she reached out and took his spare hand. "Why don't you and I go out on patrol tomorrow and start looking for him okay? He isn't doing this on his own account, you and I both know that he would never hurt one of us on purpose." 

Roy glanced down at her and gave a slight smile. "Sure thing kid, we have to reunite the three musketeers." he chuckled softly and ruffled her hair before pulling her into a hug. Wrapping her arms around him, Rory tightened her grip on him. She knew that he was worried about Jesse, the two of them really loved each other. Just looking at them, it reminded her of her relationship with Tim and special it was to her.

Jesse was always closed off but hid it behind his sarcasm and quick wit. The day he got his meta powers, Jesse was kicked out of his house for being a freak and that was when he ran and met the Flash and Kid Flash. Initially, they tried to help him but couldn't. It was when Barry decided that a trip to Star City was a good idea, Jesse had finally met Rory and Roy. 

Immediately, they became fast friends. They had a special connection with each other that they didn't have elsewhere. Together, they were the three musketeers and fought crime together. 

Rory looked back at Tim as she let go of Roy, as he laughed. "Go on, I'll be here in the morning Twinkle Toes." She punched him lightly on the shoulder and walked with Tim out of the cave hand in hand.

As they walked up, Tim swung her hands with a laugh as he kissed her cheek. Rory rolled her eyes but giggled, keeping a tight hold on his hand. Once they got to her room, Rory pushed the door open and pulled him in. Tim had changed into civilian clothes earlier before they all had the talk, but she hadn't gotten the chance to change yet because she was busy getting checked up on by Alfred who was locked in the broom closet, unconscious the entire time.

It was safe to say that no one was happy with Slade, it was an unspoken rule that no one laid a hand on Alfred. Slade had used Jesse to do that, and he was going to pay for it. 

As she changed, Rory tried to hide her hisses of pain. The tumble down the stairs really did a number on her body, but she wasn't going to let that stop her not when she had just gotten cleared for patrol again. 

Tim leaned against the back of the door as he watched her struggle to get her shirt up and over her head, getting it stuck at her shoulders because it hurt to move much more. He had to admit, he thought it was cute watching her try and get her shirt off only to get stuck with her hands stuck in the air as she struggled.

"Would you like some help there dear?" he asked. 

"No, Timothy. I can do this on my own," she answered with a huff, trying to wiggle out of her shirt more only getting herself more stuck.

He laughed and walked over, placing his hands on her bare waist before slowly sliding them up her torso. Rory shivered under his touch and huffed. "Are you going to help me get this off, or are you going to stand there and tease me?"

His hands grabbed the part of her shirt that was stuck and slowly lifted it up and past her head, pecking her lips as he tossed the fabric to the side. "Better?" he asked with a laugh.

Rory gave him a playful glare before she grabbed his shirt and pushed it up slowly. "Slightly, but it's not fair that you are wearing a shirt when I'm not. We need to fix that."

Tim raised his brow at her not-so-subtle attempt of trying to get him to undress. "Someone is in a mood tonight." he watched as Rory slid her hands inside his shirt, and traced the lines across his stomach.

"You act like you haven't tried this before." she grinned, sliding her hands around to his back as she trailed her nails down his skin softly.

Tim looked down at her and tried to keep his mind from wandering to what he wanted, versus what they needed which was sleep "Rory, you need to rest. You fell down the stairs if you forgot because I can see the bruises forming." he tried.

Rory gave him a look as she pushed him down on the bed and straddled his lap. "I can sleep after, what better way to tire me out, right?" she asked, as she pulled his shirt off of him her hands sliding down his chest.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands off of him. "Rory, I'm serious." he chuckled.

"So am I Timmy, I know you want to." she grinned. Tim took a deep breath, he could not deny that he wanted to but he couldn't. Everyone was worried about her enough as it is, and would probably check on her constantly and the two of them were in a very compromising position.

"Rory, I can't promise that no one will try to check on you in the night. I don't think you want them walking on something we don't want them to see." 

She gave him a look and let out a sigh. "Alright, but you are going to make it up to me later. And I'm taking this." Rory bent over and grabbed the shirt she took off of him and pulled it on. Her pants were discarded and she crawled into the bed wearing just the shirt.

Tim looked her over with a smile before curling up next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. "You look good in my clothes, you should wear them more often." he teased, kissing her forehead. 

Rory smiled and closed her eye as she curled into him. "Maybe I will, they smell like you. I love it." She buried her face in his neck as she drifted off, as Tim played with her hair in his fingers as he drifted off to sleep holding Rory tight in his arms.

Throughout the night, like Tim had expected several people came and checked up on her although Tim was there and he would be the first to know something was wrong with her. Dick came through at least four times, Jason only twice, and everyone else poked in only once, to make sure that they were okay.

When the morning rolled around, Rory was wrapped around Tim as he was trapped underneath her. Their legs were tangled together, and her hands were wrapped around his waist as he held her close to his chest. Tim opened his eyes to see her mop of brown hair in his face, as she slept peacefully on his chest. 

He let out a soft laugh as he rubbed her back softly. Most times, Rory was ready for a fight waiting for a chance to kick ass but in moments like these, she looked like an average girl who didn't have to worry about an assassin trying to kill her every day. Tim wished more than anything that he could take away all of her pain, but then that would take away who she was. Rory was who she was because of the pain she had felt in her life, it made her stronger and someone worth admiring. 

It was his favorite thing about her, Rory never let anything stop her. She wasn't one to give up, and he never wanted to see the day she gave up.

Rory stirred on his chest, with a groan. "Morning handsome." she smiled softly.

Tim kissed the top of her head. "Morning baby girl, did you sleep well?" he asked. She looked up at him and gave a nod. 

"Yeah, it felt nice. But I'm worried for Jesse," she admitted.

"We all are, everyone is not going to stop until we find him okay?" he asked.

"If he's hurt him in any way-" she started, but Tim shushed her. 

"Don't think like that. Why don't we go down and get breakfast okay?" he asked. Rory gave him a nod and got up, pulling on a pair of shorts so she was wearing more than his shirt. Tim grabbed a spare shirt, and they walked down to the kitchen hand in hand.

Breakfast and the rest of the day had gone relatively well, Alfred was nursing a headache from the hit Jesse had given him the night before and the stairs to the garage were unfrozen now so they were no longer a hassle. The hard part was fixing the study, ice was everywhere and multiple of Bruce's expensive items had ended up in the wall because Rory had thrown them in the dark.

She didn't want to mention the item that laid in the garden below the study, figuring it was better for Bruce or Alfred to find it instead of her telling them where it was. 

Throughout the day, they all bounced around ideas to where Slade was holding up with Jesse. It couldn't be far, Jervis' tech didn't have that long of range. The popular theory was Amusement Mile, where he had shown up the first time with Roy since Rory arrived at the Manor. 

Looking back, she had been around for almost a whole year. November it would be a whole year, and December would be a year since she started dating Tim. A lot had happened in the last year, Rory reunited with her childhood friend, got shot, kidnapped and tortured, had a pregnancy scare, stabbed, blown up, and not to mention everything else that had happened in between.

Rory and Roy were suiting up, they along with Tim and Jason were going to check out Amusement Mile. Bruce had Damian, Steph, Cass, and Dick going with him while they check at the various spots in the city. He had wanted them in larger groups this time, since they were possibly going up against Slade they had better chances of surviving in groups. He wouldn't be able to stop them all at the same time.

They looked at each other as they put on their masks, Tim coming up and taking her hand as Jason placed a hand on Roy's shoulder. "We'll find him Roy, and we will bring him home," he said. Roy looked at his friend and gave him a grateful smile.

Once they were ready to go, the four of them climbed onto their bikes and rode off into the night towards Amusement Mile. The drive was silent, neither Red Hood nor Arsenal were cracking jokes and it showed just how worried they were about Jesse. He was part of the Outlaws with them, and the whole team cared for him.

Pulling into Amusement Mile, they saw that it was quiet. Almost too quiet. Slowly, Rory got off of her bike and took her helmet off, and looked around. It hadn't changed much since the last time she was there and that was when she had gotten shot by Harley's goons. 

Red Robin, Red Hood, Grey Arrow, and Arsenal walked into the front gates with their weapons up and ready in case there was an attack. They stood back to back as they assessed the area, making sure that there was no one in sight. 

"Alright, so I doubt that if he is here that he is waiting at the front gate. My bet is that he is in the tunnels underneath the park, that's the best place to hide." Red Hood said, looking at the others.

Grey Arrow let out a groan. "Are you kidding me? The last time I was down there, Red and I got caught and I got shot twice! I don't know if any of you remember that, but I do and Slade is worse. We don't want to trap ourselves in a tiny tunnel and assuming he still has control over Freezewire, there is no way we would survive an attack down there. Not against Slade and an A-class metahuman." 

"Arrow is right, those tunnels are tight enough with two people down there. If the four of us go down, it leaves the surface vulnerable and those below prone to any attack he could send in." Red Robin agreed. 

"So what do we do?" Arsenal asked.

"You stand still long enough that I can shoot you." 

Everyone's body stiffened before they all dove out of the way, the bullet that came from above barely missing Grey Arrow by inches. If she had been a second late, then she would be on the ground bleeding out. Each of them took cover behind various items, looking at the man responsible.

"Nice to see you again Aurora, but I'm afraid you won't be with the living much longer." Slade grinned, aiming his sniper rifle at her again, and fired it.


	50. Chapter Forty-Nine

Grey Arrow saw the gun aimed right at her, so she dodged to the right to get away. She had taken shelter behind a cheap wooden board and that was not going to protect her. The bullet had missed her once again as she hid behind a metal box, that looking over she saw the other three looking at her. 

How the hell were they going to get that close to him if Slade was trying to snipe Rory out the entire time? She wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to him, but maybe the others could? Grey Arrow didn't want to take that risk.

"Come on Aurora, I know you're here because you want your friend back right? Well, show your face and you can have him." Slade called out.

Well, that complicated things. 

The other three shook their heads at her, trying to get Grey Arrow to change her mind as she stood up and slowly walked out. She avoided Red Robin's look, knowing that he was probably freaking out under the mask. It was obviously a bad idea to put herself in that kind of situation, but she made a promise to get Jesse out. If sacrificing herself to save the people she cared about was how Rory was supposed to die, it wasn't such a bad idea.

As she stepped out, she held her hands up with her bow in her hands. "Alright, you got me, Slade, now let him go." Grey Arrow said, staring down the assassin with a glare.

"Arrow, what the hell are you doing?!" Arsenal snapped, the grip on his bow tightening. 

"What needs to be done to save our friend," she answered.

They watched as Slade pulled something out of his pocket and spoke into it, and minutes later Jesse showed up on his slide made of ice and stood at his side. He didn't look terrible, but the effects of the serum were obvious. Jesse's eyes were dull and lifeless, more so than when she saw him the night before and his posture slacked significantly. Deep down, Jesse was still in there but they had to get him out from Slade's control before they could take him down.

"Aren't you the noble one? Such a shame that I have to kill you, I've come to enjoy this little game of ours." he taunted.

"Yeah, I'm going to miss our time together. Let him go, Slade." she snapped.

"I'll release him once you are dead." he raised his gun and aimed it at her. "Put the bow on the floor now, no more surprises." 

Grey Arrow slowly leaned over and put her bow on the floor, she knew better than anyone that he was not going to let Jesse go once she was dead. Not with three witnesses there to try and stop him, that was why when her hand was lowered she slid the knife hidden in her sleeve down into her hand. "Last chance Slade, let him go," she called.

Slade cocked the gun, aiming it at Grey Arrow's heart. "Any last words?" he asked.

"Yeah, you're a fucking asshole!" she yelled and turned, throwing the knife at him. Grey Arrow watched as it soared through the air and hit the scope of the sniper rifle, shattering it into pieces. Taking this to her advantage, Grey Arrow grabbed her bow and grappled up to where he was hiding. 

The other three took this as their chance to follow her up and grappled up behind her. She rolled onto the roof and aimed another arrow at Slade. "You should really know me better by now, do you really think I wouldn't go down without a fight?" she grinned.

"You might not, but I'll make it worth your while." Slade looked at Jesse. "Take them out." 

The next thing they knew, Jesse darted towards them and began to shoot blasts of ice at them. Every single one of them managed to roll away in time, but it had cost them the chance to take down Slade. Looking around, Grey Arrow saw him running away towards the roller coaster.

"Hood, Arsenal try and subdue Jess! Red and I are going after Slade!" she hollered. They gave her a nod as Red Hood shot rubber bullets at his friend, Arsenal backing him up with fire arrows. Red Robin and Grey Arrow took off and rolled onto the ground and trailed after Slade.

"Just because I took out the scope, it doesn't mean he can't still shoot us from a distance," she called to Red Robin who ran at her side.

"Wherever you go, I'm going too, woman. Don't you dare think I am leaving you alone this time, we're doing this together." he chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist and aimed his grapple gun. Slade had begun to climb the roller coaster and they weren't going to catch him on foot. Before Red Robin pressed the button he looked at Grey Arrow.

He pressed a kiss to her lips, "I love you Rory if something happens to me I wanted to say it one more time." 

Grey Arrow hit him on the chest. "Don't you fucking talk like that, we are getting out of this alive Drake. Slade is going to be stopped," she said and held on tight as he pressed the button on his gun and propelled them both into the air to catch up with the assassin.

As they rose into the air, Grey Arrow watched as Slade continued to climb the coaster quickly. Once they got to the top, they stepped carefully. One wrong move and the boards underneath them would fall and they would plummet to their deaths. Slade ran up and glared at Grey Arrow, the three of them were at the highest point of the coaster and only one of them was going to come down.

"I see you dragged your little boyfriend along with you. I thought you knew better than to flaunt your weaknesses, but then again your escapades across town were anything but that. The two of you live a very high profile life, it's how I was able to track you down." Slade said, unsheathing one of his swords.

Grey Arrow took a deep breath. "He isn't a weakness, Red Robin makes me stronger and you know it. It's why you followed us both, you wanted to know how we worked together and if it was going to be a problem," she answered, gripping her bow. "You know that you can't take us both, it's why you always attacked when I was alone, left unprotected. If you could unhinge me just enough, then you could go in for the kill." 

Slade's face didn't change. He was impressed, but it did not show. "Very good, you really are as smart as they say, dear Aurora. You're right, when you left Star City I thought that I would finally get my chance but then I saw who you stayed with. I watched your every move, waiting for my chance to strike, and believe me there were many." 

Her face began to go a shade of red as she tightened her grip so hard that her knuckles went white. "You want to kill me? Go ahead and try." she snarled and aimed three arrows and shot them at his feet, as they exploded on contact.

With the explosion, the coaster teetered where it stood. Grey Arrow made a mental note to not shoot any more of those. Slade dodged away from the explosions and aimed his handgun at her. Red Robin was quick and covered them both with his cape, stopping the bullets from hitting them. 

"What's the plan?" he asked as he threw batarangs at the assassin as Grey Arrow fired more arrows at him. 

"We need to get close enough to incapacitate him. It ends here and now," she answered and rolled away and fired more arrows. Slade dodged them all and fired his gun, the bullets missing her as she dropped to her chest. Looking up, she saw a sign and fired arrows at it. 

Red Robin saw what she was doing and used his grapple to pull it over onto Slade, watching as it collapsed on him. Grey Arrow took this as her chance and charged at him as he pushed the wooden slabs off of him. She was lucky he was caught off guard, or she would probably have been stabbed again. 

He raised his sword that she blocked with her bow, Red Robin stood behind Slade as he used his bo staff to knock the handgun out of his hand. Slade grabbed his second sword and fought them both off as Red Robin tried to land more hits and Grey Arrow tried to get a clear shot to stop him. 

They were so caught up in their battle that they didn't notice the one going on below them. Jesse had managed to chase Red Hood and Arsenal towards the coaster, as he fired sheets of ice at them, covering anything it hit. "No offense, but why was it Jesse he took? You would be way easier to take down, especially with him on my side."

"Wow, Hood! We're fighting my mind-controlled boyfriend and that's what you have to say to me?" Arsenal laughed. "Those two better get that communications device before he turns us into human popsicles." 

"At least the others are on the way okay, I managed to get the message out before he froze the comm in my helmet." Red Hood laughed and fired more bullets at Jesse, who they seemed to just bounce off of as he protected himself with a sheet of ice.

As he fired the ice, the support beams to the coaster were frozen and became even more fragile. Grey Arrow and Red Robin felt it above as the coaster began to wobble and sway beneath them. "We need to get off this thing now!" she called.

Red Robin grabbed his grapple gun, only for Slade to shoot it out of his hand, and then fired another shot into his side. Grey Arrow watched as Red Robin fell to his knees, holding his side.

"Tim!" she turned and kicked the sword out of his hand, it falling to the ice-covered floor below. "You'll fucking pay for hurting him!" Grey Arrow was relentless with her attacks, she had been right when she said that Red Robin was her strength. Seeing him hurt, brought a whole new rush of adrenaline into her and she used it to land hit after hit on Slade Wilson, hoping to wipe that stupid smug grin right off his face.

Using her bow, she knocked his feet out from under him. and aimed an arrow at his chest. "You won't kill me. Besides, if you shoot me now your boyfriend falls to his death. Take your pick, revenge, or love?"

Grey Arrow frowned and let out a growl. "Damn it!" The coaster was losing balance and was beginning to fall out from under them. Hopefully Red Hood and Arsenal were out from under it. Grey Arrow urged her feet to go faster, needing to get to Tim. She watched as he got to his feet and began to run towards her, his hand gripping his side tightly.

Grabbing a grapple arrow, she slid it onto her bow and reached him right as the coaster began to collapse. "Grab on!" Red Robin wrapped an arm around her waist she fired the arrow, it catching onto a building across the way. Not wanting to waste another moment, she pushed off of the coaster and glided through the air, the coaster collapsing completely as their feet left it.

They hit the ground with a thud, Grey Arrow crawling over to check Red Robin's injury. "You alright?" she asked, cupping his face. Taking his hand, she moved it off the wound and saw that it wasn't deep. The bullet had gone in and out, leaving minimal damage to his side.

Red Robin let out a small groan. "Yeah, I'll be alright as long as you have my back Songbird." he smiled.

"I'll always have your back." she got to her feet to help him up when she was grabbed from behind, feeling a cold grip on her throat. It seemed that Jesse had caught up with her, as he held Grey Arrow tight against his chest.

She let out a small whimper, feeling the cold crawl up her wrist that he held behind her back. Red Robin, Red Hood, and Arsenal stood in shock not sure what to do. Protecting her was their first priority, but she had gotten caught anyway.

Slade appeared out of the cloud of dust and grinned. "Good job kid, I'd offer you a job if you weren't under my control." 

At the sight of him, Red Hood and Arsenal aimed their weapons at him. "Let them go, Slade!" Arsenal called.

He looked between the three heroes, then at Jesse who held Grey Arrow captive as the ice slowly crept up her arm and began to spread across her throat. "That wasn't part of the deal, only one of you needs to die tonight. I don't want unnecessary bloodshed, it's not a good look on an assassin." 

"No one is dying on my watch!" Grey Arrow cried as she hooked her foot behind Jesse's ankle and sent him to his knees. She twisted in his hold and wrapped her legs around his head and punched him hard enough that he was out in one hit. Rolling to her feet, she stood next to the other three.

"I keep underestimating you Aurora, you never cease to surprise me. But that all ends, you are going to die at my hand tonight and my job will be done." he taunted, pulling out the sword he still had on him.

"Get the device he controls Jesse with! If we destroy it, he won't be under his control!" she called and fired arrows at his pockets, wanting to bring it to the floor. As she did that, Red Hood fired bullets at him and Arsenal did the same as Grey Arrow. Red Robin stayed back and watched, waiting for his chance to dive in and grab it.

It happened once Arsenal got the right pocket and the control box fell to the floor with a clatter. "I'll grab it!" with a wince, Red Robin dove into the action missing all the flying arrows and bullets to grab it and run. 

Jesse had woken up from the punch Rory gave him and saw Red Robin run with the box. "Go get that device!" Slade ordered. He gave Slade a nod and took off after Red Robin, catching up with him quickly.

"Give that back!"

Red Robin looked back and urged his feet to go faster. Just dropping this in the ocean would short it out and Jesse would be safe, but he didn't get that far before his feet were caught in the ice and forced to stop running. 

Quickly he held it up and began to tinker with it, trying to find the cancel switch or something that could help save Jesse. "The buttons should be labeled on this fucking thing," he muttered before he began to smash it against the ice holding him down. 

Spark shot out and Jesse stopped dead in his tracks, the look in his eyes changing from dull to the normal lively brown they were. Red Robin watched as Jesse took a look around, confused at his surroundings.

"Hey Red, how the hell did I get here? Did I do that to you?" he asked, melting it away.

Red Robin chuckled and gave him a nod. "Yeah, you also did that." he pointed to the collapsed coaster, and Jesse's eyes widened.

"Holy shit, I didn't hurt anyone did I?" he asked.

Red Robin was about to answer when a gunshot rang across the area, silencing them all. They looked at Grey Arrow to make sure she was still alive, but it wasn't her Slade aimed at. They looked and saw that it was Jesse he had shot instead.

It was Arsenal who reacted first, he darted towards Jesse and caught him before he could collapse gripping his ice-cold hand in his own. "Jesse, look at me baby please." he cried. Red Robin knelt beside them trying to find where the bullet had hit him, seeing if he would survive. Jesse's once white shirt was stained red as the blood seeped through on his chest. 

Red Hood and Grey Arrow ran over hovered over them. "Jesse, come on speak to me," she muttered.

"Nice to see you again Twinkle Toes, I'm glad I didn't hurt you..." he muttered.

Grey Arrow wiped her eyes, trying to stop the tears. "I'm okay, and you will be too. Batman is on his way and we will get you back to the cave, I promise you're going to be okay." she whimpered.

"I don't think I have much time left... take care of him for me will you?" he asked, gripping Grey Arrow and Arsenal's hands tightly in his own. Grey Arrow sniffed and gave him a nod, tears spilling from her eyes.

Jesse's gaze went to Jason and Tim, "Make sure she doesn't get herself killed. She needs both of you." he wheezed. 

Jason held his friend's head in his lap and nodded. "You got it, Jess, I'll keep them both out of trouble," he said softly.

"I'll keep Jay out of trouble, Jess you don't have to worry about either of them," Tim said, tears pricking his eyes. Jesse gave him a grateful nod, his movements getting weaker as he looked to Roy, the love of his life.

"Take care of her, Rory needs you baby." his voice caught in his throat, as Roy choked back sobs.

"You can't leave me, Jess, I need you. I love you..." he whispered.

Jesse smiled one last time, tightening his grip on his friend's hands. "I love you too Roy Harper, never forget that." Roy leaned down and pressed his lips to his, as Jesse Thomas took his last breath.

Seeing that he was dead, Roy let out his sobs and pulled his limp body against his. Jason and Tim sat there in silence, grieving over their late friend. Rory watched the scene, her heart shattering into pieces at the sight of Roy crying over the lifeless body of his love.

Looking to her left, she saw the sword she had knocked out of Slade's hand earlier. She knew Slade was behind her, and he was going to pay for the murder of her best friend. Rory dashed for the sword and dove at Slade, the blade held tightly in her hand as she let out a cry of rage.

Slade blocked her attack and grinned, this was the Aurora Queen he wanted to see. The girl so overcome with rage, that she was ready to kill him at any cost. 

All Rory saw was red as she fought Slade with his own sword. "You killed him! You fucking killed him, and now I'll kill you!" Hot tears fell down her cheeks as she fought Slade with everything she had in her. 

Hearing her words Jason and Tim looked up, the blood draining from their faces. They got up and ran over to her, hoping to stop her before she did something she would regret. Watching her, Rory had a different look to her. A look neither of them had seen before, she was deadly and dangerous with every move she made. 

If he wasn't so worried about stopping her, Tim would have thought her as graceful, beautiful even. But Rory was revenge-driven and out for blood, Slade's blood to make up for the pain he had caused her. 

Her movements only got quicker, the angrier she got. Slade had unleashed something he wasn't prepared for and watched as Rory knocked the sword out of his hand and caught it before she kicked him onto his back. He watched as Rory stood above him, both swords in her hands as her hair swayed in the wind. Her chest rose and fell, each breath filled with rage and sorrow from the death of her best friend and she was going to make sure Slade felt everything she did.

"Rory, don't!" Tim called as he caught up and wrapped his arms around her, stopping her from making any more moves.

"Let go of me!" Rory let out a growl and flipped him off of her as he landed on the debris of the coaster, and held a sword up to Slade's throat. 

"You go through life, killing people; making them fear death. But tell me, Slade Wilson, do you fear death?" she glared. 

Slade didn't get the chance to answer before Jason came up and grabbed her from behind. "Rory, stop before you make me do something I don't want to do to you." he groaned. His words only made her fight harder to get out of his hold, Jason almost lost his grip on her twice before he activated the electric plates in his chest piece.

Rory let out a scream before she collapsed, unconscious in his arms. With a groan, Tim got up from the ground and walked over and took her out of Jason's arms. Tim held her close and watched as Jason pulled out a gun filled with live rounds and aimed it at Slade.

"Move one fucking muscle, and I'll blow your brains out," he growled.

Minuted later Batman and the others arrived at the scene, their eyes widening at what lay before them. The battle of Amusement Mile was not one they were not going to forget any time soon.


	51. Chapter Fifty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is more filler again, it's all of them dealing with the death of Jesse and heavy topics are discussed here so please read with discretion.

Rory sat on her balcony, her legs hanging off the edge as she leaned against the bars keeping her safe. It had been three weeks since Jesse was murdered by Slade and three weeks since they locked him up in Belle Reve Prison. Supposedly, it was impossible to break out of but she had very little doubt that it would keep a man like him trapped there for long.

That prison was designed to hold the bad of the bad, the worst of the worst. Gotham would benefit from some of her criminals being locked up there, but that was only if they didn't get out of Arkham before they got transferred. Slade was one of the most dangerous men on the planet, along with Deadshot, Lady Shiva, and the Demon Head himself, Ra's Al Ghul.

She had been told once before by Malcolm Merlyn, that Rory had serious potential to be the most dangerous woman alive and he would hate to see what becomes of the person to make her that way. Oliver and Malcolm were enemies, but sometimes they had gotten along. The Ninth Circle had sunk its claws deep into Star City, and they enlisted his help to stop them. Merlyn had taken it upon himself to personally train Rory to be a better version of herself, to be an assassin in that year and a half and she swore to herself she would never fight like that again.

But she had, Rory had almost murdered Slade Wilson in cold blood and she would be lying to herself if she said that she wouldn't do it again if he were in front of her. Slade didn't deserve to live out the rest of his life in prison, knowing what he had reduced Rory to. Knowing that he had broken her down to the deepest darkest parts of herself, shattering the pieces she had kept together for so long.

Tim stood in the doorway, watching Rory as she took another sip of the glass beside her. He knew better than to think that it was something as simple as water, he was too observant for it. As a matter of fact, he knew that the very bottle the vodka had come from was hidden under her bed, inside a box of things she hadn't wanted to look at since Jesse died. It was needless to say that he was worried about her, Tim was watching her self destruct right in front of him but there was nothing he could do until she accepted the help.

Rory knew Tim was there watching her, waiting for her to say something; but what would she say? Since Jesse died, a part of her died with him. She no longer joked around, laughed at Dick's terrible puns, or even picked on Jason. Rory had gone as far as benching herself from patrol, something she used to look forward to no longer seemed fun anymore.

Tim let out a sigh as he walked further into the room, he had to try something; maybe try to convince her to stop drinking and put the bottle of vodka away? He couldn't stand to see her waste away like this. Carefully, he sat down next to her and placed his hand on hers. The second his skin touched hers, Rory drew her hand back and placed it on her lap sending a pang of hurt through Tim's heart. She had never rejected his touch like that before, normally Rory took comfort in his touch knowing that he was there for her to lean on.

They sat together in silence before Rory finally spoke. "He was the first person I ever loved, Jesse was the first to see what I buried deep inside of myself," she muttered taking another drink.

Tim looked at her, why was she telling him this? It's not that he felt jealous, he was more confused than anything. 

"He was my first for a lot of things really, my first love, my first real relationship, first friend outside of Roy in years... We were supposed to be together forever the three of us. The Three Musketeers we called ourselves, it caught on so much Oli and Dinah began to call us that." she chuckled softly, swirling the drink in her hand.

"But, he was also my first heartbreak, my first fight, my first partner. You can't ever forget someone like that," she muttered.

"No one is asking you to forget him or move on Rory. Hell, no one is asking you to do anything except to stay out of the liquor cabinet. We all loved him, in different ways than you and Roy, but we are grieving with you. None of us want you to feel like you are alone in this, because you're not." Tim spoke up, looking at her. 

"Roy is handling this almost as bad as you are, and Jason hasn't been seen in days. Everyone is worried about you, and them," he said.

Rory let out a huff. "Why? Worried that I'm going to help Roy break into Belle Reve and murder Slade in his sleep?" she snapped.

"No! None of us are thinking that Rory!" he said quickly.

"You don't have to because the thought has crossed my mind every night as I try to sleep. The only thing that's stopping me is the fact that I don't want to be any more of a monster than I am." she dumped the last of her cup and got up, sitting it on the bedside table.

"Rory, you are not a monster. How many times do I have to tell you this?" he asked, getting up and following after her.

"You seem to be forgetting the fact that I tried to kill him. I would have done it if Jason didn't stop me," she said, keeping her back to him as she walked towards the door. "It's better if you just move on and forget me, Tim, I'm no good for you."

Her hand grabbed the handle and pulled the door open when Tim's hand came up from behind her and slammed it shut, startling her. Rory stood there quietly, she could feel the warmth of Tim's body radiating from behind her. It was something she missed like hell, Rory had preferred to be on her own lately and that meant no Tim in her bed every night.

What surprised her more was when Tim grabbed her wrists and turned her roughly, holding her against the door. He was never rough with her, ever. Not even when they were having sex, his hands were always gentle with her as they trailed across her body. But this was different, looking up at him she could see that he was angry, angry at her.

"Don't you ever tell me to forget you Aurora Queen, you are the most important person in my life, and will never let you go if I have anything to say about it? You are the best thing to ever happen to me, I love you more than anything. You make me a better person, despite what you think of yourself. I will always fight to be worthy of you and your love because one day you might just realize that you are the one that deserves better." he said, the tone of his voice level quiet from his anger.

"Tim you're the one who deser-" he placed his hand over her mouth, similar to the moment he had first told her he loved her.

"Don't even try finishing that sentence. You are not a monster, you're human. All of these emotions you are feeling are normal Rory, everyone feels these when they are going through a loss like this. Don't you think I know what this feels like? My dad was killed and there was nothing I could do to stop it." he said, holding her against the door.

"If I had just stayed in that night like he had asked me to, then he might still be alive to this day or we both could have been killed by Boomerang. You can't waste your life thinking about all of the what-ifs, and let it stop you from living the life they want you to live. I know Jesse would kick your ass if he saw you hurting yourself like this and over him no doubt." Tim removed his hand from her mouth and cupped her face.

"Dealing with loss is never going to be easy, whoever told you that is full of shit and needs a reality check. And if you think I am going to leave you at a time like this, then you are the dumbest genius I know. I am going to be by your side through all of this, thick or thin. That ring on your finger was more than a promise to marry you one day, it's a promise that I am always going to be here for you." 

Rory swallowed as she tried to hold back her tears. Tim was right, of course, he was right. If Jesse knew what she was doing to herself, he would skin her alive. Benching herself was one thing, but the flat out disregard of taking care of herself was another can of worms. She never knew how Tim had been adopted by Bruce, but it seemed that he had suffered a fate similar to others that lived in this Manor. 

She couldn't let this stop her from living her life, Rory had to keep living to fight the fight that no one else could. She had to keep going not just for her sake or Tim's but for Roy's, he was counting on her to have his back until the end. Losing Jesse, it had shaken everyone to their core upon realizing that it could be them one day leaving their loved ones behind in the land of the living while they got the chance to move on from this life.

Slowly, her free hand rose up to cup his cheek and pulled him closer. Tim's warmth radiated across her body, warming every bit of her even down to her toes. She watched as a small smile spread on his face. "Don't shut me out Rory, remember we're partners. Wherever you go, I'm going too," he said softly.

"And wherever you go, I follow," she answered, leaning up to place a kiss on his soft lips. Tim's hand let go of her other wrist as he wound both arms around her waist, her hands gripping the front of his shirt. Rory rose to her toes to reach him better, wanting to feel more of him as she deepened the kiss.

His left hand went to cradle the back of her neck as he kissed her with such force that her knees buckled out from under her, Rory would have fallen if it weren't for the hold he had around her waist. Before she could take it further, Tim broke away from the kiss and looked down at her.

"I don't think this is the time for that Briar Rose, I don't want you feeling like you have to do anything because of me," he muttered, his lips brushing hers softly. 

Rory inhaled the scent of him slowly, as her eyes met his. "I want this, Tim. I've spent weeks not wanting to feel anything, pushing any sense of emotion out of myself. I want to change that, starting with my love for you." 

"You promise this is something you want?" he asked, tightening his grip on her waist. 

Rory gave him a firm nod. "There's nothing else I want right now Tim, I promise it's okay."

Neither of them said another word before his lips captured hers once more in a kiss so desperate, Rory's back thudded against the door again with the force of his lips. Her hands pulled at his shirt, wanting to feel the warmth of his skin under her touch-deprived of such needs.

Tim's hand left her waist as he flipped the lock on her door before he grabbed her thighs lifting her up. Rory's legs wrapped around his waist, pulling his hips closer to hers as she let out soft moans from his touch. His grip only tightened on her as she moved her hands towards his hair and tugged on it, making strained groans leave his lips.

He carried her over to the bed, and carefully set her down before crawling over her without breaking the kiss. His hands were all over her body, not wanting to leave one part of her untouched. Tim needed her like he needed oxygen, she was why he fought to live another day and if he ever lost her Tim would lose himself.

Rory's hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, trying to undo them before she finally quit and tugged as hard as she could popping several of them off. She trailed her fingers over his shoulders and slid the fabric off his torso as he discarded it to the side. Tim was quick with undressing her, not wanting to waste any more time, he needed Rory and needed to show her how much he loved her.

He pinned her hands back as he placed kissed all over the parts of her body he could reach. Hearing her whines of protest, he placed another kiss on her lips. "Shh, let me show you how much I love you Songbird." and he did just that.

With every kiss, touch, and whisper Rory felt the love he held for her deep in his heart. Everything Tim did, he did for her and he wanted her to know it. With his clothes tossed to the floor, Tim held her body close to his as they made love; the chorus of their moans filling the quiet room.

After, the two of them laid in bed Rory in his arms as his fingers traced the marks he had left across her skin. Her body was nothing short of a work of art to him, and Tim could sit for hours just admiring the woman in front of him. Rory had her eyes closed, as she listened to the rhythmic sound of his breathing. After being alone for so long, it felt nice to have him with her once again. Rory had truly missed him.

Of course, they both knew that the grief and guilt they held deep down wouldn't go away just like that. It was something that took time, and effort but like Tim had said before they couldn't let it stop them from living their lives. No matter what happened, Tim would be by Rory's side and she would be by his side taking care of each other as they went through this together.

Rory knew that she needed to see Roy and talk to him, maybe try to talk some sense into Jason as well. Tim had said that if anyone could get him back, it would be either her, Dick or Roy. Everyone had decided that it was best to give him some space, Jason had never been good with dealing with his feelings that weren't sarcasm and snark. When it came to the more complicated things, he would up and leave because he didn't want to hurt anyone with his outbursts. Jason had thought that the responsible thing to do at least.

Roy had holed himself up in his room, from what she heard he was in worse shape than she was. Jesse was the love of his life, and he had died in his arms. Rory would walk in there now if it weren't for the fact that her legs were sore, and she had no idea what to say to him. She had never been in this position, losing a lover, and she never wanted to know what it felt like but it was something Roy was going through and he shouldn't be going through it alone.

Slowly, Rory turned to look at Tim as he traced the bites he left on her hips and stomach his eyes locking with hers. He smiled softly and kissed her again, Rory's swollen lips melting with his perfectly. "What's on your mind Briar Rose?" he asked.

"I'm worried about Roy mostly, what do I say to him?" she asked, tracing the lines on his chest from the muscle he had grown there. "I can't just tell him that everything will be okay. I've never been good at talks like this, and I'm scared that I will say the wrong thing." 

"You don't have to say anything at all, all you have to do is just be there. Remember, I just sat next to you and waited for you to do the talking? Do the same for him, make sure he knows that you are with him. With Jason gone, you are the only one he truly trusts right now and he will open up to you." Tim said, brushing his thumb over her lips.

"What if he doesn't say anything?" Rory leaned into Tim's touch as his thumb went from her lips to her jawline. "What do I do then?" 

"Then he isn't ready to open up, you can't force Roy to do anything any more than I could you. The two of you are cut from the same cloth, just give him time," he said tilting her head up into a kiss once more.

After another hour of them laying in bed, Tim and Rory finally got up and dressed. Slipping a hoodie over her head, Rory curled into its warmth as she walked towards Roy's room and knocked on the door.

It took a few minutes, but she heard a come in from the other side so she slowly pushed the door open. The lights in Roy's room were off and she saw him curled into the corner of his room, looking like he hadn't moved in days. Rory stepped in and walked over towards Roy, crouching down in front of him.

His eyes met hers briefly before he huffed a laugh and looked back at the wall. "I see that you and Tim are on better terms again," he muttered.

"Better terms?" she asked, raising a brow.

"You just got laid Twinkle Toes, you really think I wouldn't notice? You forget, I know you better than anyone else." he chuckled softly.

Rory narrowed her eye as she punched his arm. "You asshole. I came to check on you, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Want me, to be honest? Like shit, like I took him for granted and didn't appreciate what I had enough before it was gone..." he trailed off. Rory watched him as he talked, they both knew that this was going to be a hard conversation but she wasn't going to push him. 

"Roy, Jesse knew you loved him. I saw it in the way he looked at you, he loved you so much. He never looked at me the way he looked at you, that's how I knew it was real." she said softly, leaning closer to him.

Roy sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I wish I realized my feelings earlier, so then I would have had more time with him. Here I was thinking that he was still pining after you when his dumb ass was just trying to get my attention and make me jealous." 

Rory let out a laugh, leaning her head on his shoulder. "He was never clear with his motives, and most of the time it got us into trouble." 

"Didn't you know, trouble was his middle name?" he asked, taking Rory's hand in his own. 

She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding, maybe she wasn't so bad at this comforting thing like she thought. Rory refused to leave his side as the two of them talked for hours about everything, sharing old memories of their fallen friend. The others left in the mansion had noticed that they both were nowhere to be seen, and poked their heads in. 

Roy had allowed them in, as he and Rory would share stories of missions they had gone on with Jesse when they were younger. They all had talked all through dinner when one more person arrived. Looking up, Rory saw Jason's tall figure standing in the doorway. He had come back, and it seemed he needed them as much as they needed him. 

Jason ruffled his hair with a shaky sigh as he sat next to Rory. She looked down and had taken his hand in hers and held it tightly like she had been with Roy for the last few hours. Seeing that he hadn't tried to punch her for it, Rory kept a hold on his hand giving him that small form of comfort that he needed from his friends. 

"So what were you talking about when I walked in?" he asked.

"The time that he froze Oli's garage, and somehow managed to blame me and Roy," Rory answered.

Jason let out a small laugh, his grip on Rory's hand tightening. "How did Oliver believe that? Wasn't it buried in ice?" 

Rory and Roy both nodded with a laugh as they told the story, reliving the memories with a smile. Maybe, with each other, this wasn't going to be so bad.


	52. Chapter Fifty-One

"You do know that Belle Reve Prison is not going to hold Slade for long right? Sooner or later he will break out and come for me." Rory said, sharpening the tips of her arrows.

"That thought had crossed my mind, yes, but as long as you are here or in Star City with Oliver, then he won't be able to touch you. Also, don't underestimate your abilities. You are a strong fighter Rory, and you are intelligent. You've taken him down once before, if he comes back you can take him down again." Bruce said from his computer.

Tim was sat next to her looking through the files on his laptop, with the information about Ivy was planning with the goo she got from Joker they needed to figure out where she was storing it and how she was making it in the first place. Rory wanted to go pay another visit to Harley, but both Tim and Bruce voted against it saying that Ivy was probably keeping an eye on her now. 

The only other people involved with this case was Joker and Penguin, and no one was stupid enough to go interrogate the Joker without Batman around. Rory still had nightmares from what he did to her but wasn't as frequent as they used to be. 

Ever since Slade was thrown in prison, life in the Manor had chilled out immensely. Roy had gone back to Star City to stay with Oliver and work on his gear to improve it, promising to bring something back for her. Jason was hanging around Gotham some more, apparently, Black Mask was up to no good again and needed some friendly persuasion from the resident crime lord of Wayne Manor.

Dick went back to Bludhaven a week ago, he had friends there that he needed to check up on and to make sure nothing terrible had happened in his absence. His friends Wally and Zatanna would pop in every so often, but they couldn't stay when they had their own business to attend to.

Stephanie hung around the Manor still, taking Dick's place as the constant source of bad humor. They all missed him but knew that he had his own life to live now. He couldn't stay in Gotham forever, not when Bludhaven needed him.

Cassandra was with Bruce's cousin Kate on more Batman Inc. business over in England, they were hanging out with Knight and Squire to see what they knew about a case Kate had been working on. 

Barbara hung around, but not as much with Dick gone. She was able to be Oracle from her own apartment, only staying at the Manor with the Slade threat over their heads. Now that it was gone, everyone could return to their daily lives they led outside of being vigilantes. 

Bruce and Damian of course stayed in Gotham, they were Batman and Robin. Where else would they go? The former wasn't due for any Justice League meetings in the future, and Damian was wanting to learn a few tricks Rory had picked up over the years. He had told her that a good fighter never stops learning, and learning to fight as an archer did would be good for him if the time ever came.

Of course, Rory took up on the deal as long as he worked with her on her own sword skills. She was good enough as it was, but she wanted to be better just in case Slade came back for her. 

Before everyone left, however, Tim and Rory officially announced that they were getting an apartment together in uptown Gotham. The reactions from the others varying, the most supportive being Dick, Alfred, Steph, Babs, and Cass, to the least being Jason and Roy. Bruce and Damian were somewhere in the middle, they weren't fond of the idea but they weren't against Rory and Tim taking the next step in their relationship.

The only problem was that Tim was still part of the Titans in Jump City, across the country. He had mentioned to Rory that she would be welcome on the team, she never gave him a straight answer. Rory wasn't a team player, hanging around the batfamily was the most team interaction she had gotten in a while. 

"If I were a humanoid-plant person thingy, where would I hide my secret stash of world domination goop to keep it out of Batman's sight?" Rory asked aloud. 

There were not many places in Gotham that Bruce didn't have an eye on, but that wasn't counting all the places the others had their eyes on. That was why he valued all of them and their varying skills, even though he did not agree with Jason's tactics most of the time; Bruce could not deny that he had eyes and ears that Batman could never get.

With Tim, as he was taking over Wayne Enterprises soon, he had his ear in every socialite in Gotham, most of the big names in the country and several world wide. The Wayne family was famous and powerful, everyone wanted to be your friend if you held the name.

"Would she hide it in Arkham? That's one place most people would overlook, it's dark, gloomy and not to mention filled with the crazies that inhabit this city." Tim spoke up, not tearing his eyes from his laptop screen.

"Are you sure she is even in Gotham still?" Damian asked from the training mat. He held one of Rory's spare bows as he practiced the moves she had demonstrated two hours before, wanting to get them perfect.

"Why wouldn't she be in Gotham? Harley is still in town, and from what the love birds have said it's a partnership between them." Jason spoke up.

Rory let out a huff and grabbed one of the empty to-go cups that Tim had tossed. "Do you need this still Dragon Boy?" she asked.

Tim just shook his head. She shrugged before launching it at Jason's head. "Don't call me love bird, I'm not even a bird." 

"Well, nothing else comes to mind Princess. When you come up with something better, let me know. 

Rory rolled her eyes and went back to sharpening her arrows. Where would Ivy be able to hide all that waste if she was still in Gotham? There weren't many places that big to begin with and she wouldn't bring it to the gardens for the simple fact that it would poison the plants she had there. 

All the stocks they had tracked down through Penguin were relocated, but they didn't know to where. It seemed that the criminal underground had taken advantage of their busy lives and moved it all under their noses.

She thought through where it all began, from when she and Tim were first put on the case to where they were now when the idea popped into her head. "What if she is storing it at Amusement Mile?" she asked softly.

The cave went quiet, no one had dared to go back since Jesse died let alone mention it. This was the first time in a month it was mentioned, and none of them were sure that they were ready to go back.

"Why do you think she is there?" Bruce asked, turning to look at her.

"Well, it's where all of this began. If I have learned anything about the criminals here, they are dramatic as hell, and love the symbolism. She wouldn't store it in the gardens, and she wouldn't store it anywhere easy for us to find. With the thought that we had already been there with this case, why would she go back? Because we had already deemed it clear and left it alone." Rory explained.

Everyone listened quietly as she spoke, the first to speak was Tim. "She does have a point, it is actually a really smart move to go back to a place we already looked into as it drives us in circles." 

Bruce looked at them, then to Jason. He didn't want to send any of them back there, but he couldn't go and Damian stuck with him wherever he went. Those three were there when Jesse died, and the last thing he wanted to do was throw them headfirst into the place where he died.

"You can let me go on my own Bruce, I'll be alright. Just recon right?" Rory asked.

All eyes turned to her. Rory only started to back on patrol five days ago and her attitude was doing well along with her fighting, it seemed that she was slowly starting to heal from the loss but no one was sure if she could handle going back there.

"I can handle it, besides I've been wanting to go back anyway. I don't know why, it just feels right," she said softly.

Tim looked up at her and took her hand in his own. He had been with her since that day and has been watching her grow, of course, he worried for her but if she wanted to go back who was he to stop her? "I don't want you going alone, why don't you take me with you or even Steph?" he asked.

"Because with the shortage of heroes in Gotham we are spread thin enough as it is. Kate, Cass, Dick, and Roy aren't here right now. It's the five of us with Steph, and Gotham is not small. Just give me two hours, and if I don't find anything by then I will meet up with whatever one of you is closest." she bargained.

Tim let out a sigh as he looked at Bruce. "Again, she's right. We are spread thin and will be until Cass and Kate come back next week. I don't like this idea, but I say we trust her." 

Jason shifted where he stood. "She is the smallest, and by that standard the lightest. She would have less of a chance of getting caught, and Timbo or I could stay on the eastern side just in case she needs help. I'd call in a few favors, but we're spread pretty thin too." 

When Jesse died, the Outlaws took a temporary break. With the loss of one of the founders, they didn't know how to carry on without him and decided that it was a good idea to head back to their homes and take a break from it.

"I think Kon is in Metropolis, maybe he could lend us a hand?" Tim asked.

"Jon is there too, maybe he could help. It's not like Superman can't handle crime on his own." Damian chimed in.

Bruce looked at the four people in front of him. "If you want to call them, go ahead. But Jon needs permission from his father first if he so much as shows up here and I get a call from Clark then no patrol for a week." he threatened, looking at his youngest.

Tim's mood picked up immediately as he grabbed his phone and called Kon, walking out of the room. Damian followed suit, calling Jon himself leaving Rory, Jason, and Bruce there alone.

"Don't expect me to have any hero friends, you guys and Roy are it. Not a team player remember?" she shrugged getting up to put her arrows away. 

"But you could be, that offer still stands Aurora. Several members of the League want you to join, even after everything that happened," Bruce said. 

"Wait, you got an offer to join the Justice League?" Jason asked, raising a brow at her. "And neither of you said a thing about it?"

Rory shrugged. "I've had the offer for a few years now, Jay. I just never gave an answer, I don't work well with teams." she set them up in the case and turned to look at him. "And it's not something I want to flaunt around, the only person I actually told was Tim. Oliver told Roy and Jesse before I could stop him."

Jason looked more confused than ever, growing up as Robin all he wanted was to get the recognition he deserved and become someone worthy of the league. Of course these days, with the way he ran things it would probably never happen but he was okay with it. He helped the city in his own way. With Rory, he could see her being a great addition to the team. Not many of them were trained the way she was, Grey Arrow would be a huge asset for them.

"Not to be rude, but what the fuck kind of excuse is that Princess?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You've been here for almost a year now, and have been working with us as a team. Don't work well with teams my ass." 

Rory turned to look at him with a hard glare. "May I remind you that it was against my will? I only stayed because Oliver asked me to." which was the trust, mostly. That was the reason in the beginning but as time went on, she didn't want to lose Tim again. Even before they started dating, they were joined at the hip like when they were kids and it was nearly impossible to keep them apart. Maybe that's why they worked so well together.

"Besides, even with several of the founding members advocating for me to join I'm just not ready. I'm pretty sure Golden Boy is worried I might bleach more capes too" she chuckled.

Jason didn't even get the words out to ask before Bruce cut him off. "I've said it once before and I'll say it again. She is not allowed to tell you how she bleached my cape, only three of us know how that happened and it's going to stay that way." 

Their conversation came to a halt when Damian came back down with a sour look. "Jon is stuck in Metropolis, he has homework," he muttered crossing his arms. 

Rory let out a laugh, it was so easy to forget that Damian was still just a child. There were times like right now though, that he actually acted his age. She walked over with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Want to work on some more of those moves I showed you?" she asked.

Damian looked up at her and a smile replaced his frown. "You're on Sonnet, I'll kick your ass!" he got up and flipped up into the rink. She pursed her lips at his words and gave a suspicious look. 

"You may be thirteen Dami, but even I know not to swear in front of my parents," she commented as she climbed into the ring, picking up a sword as she watched Damian pick up the spare bow he was using earlier. 

"You swear in front of everyone Sonnet, I've heard you say things that would make Superman blush."

Jason couldn't hold back his laughter, he had to admit Damian had a point. There were very few people who were that vulgar and that list consisted of himself, Tim, and Rory. Jason and Rory never had much of a filter when they spoke, but if you were to catch Tim at the wrong times no one was sure who was worse.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Another reason I won't join, not one for the family-friendly look." she called as she raised the sword and aimed it at Damian, "Remember, fighting with a bow is similar to that of a sword but different as well. It's not meant to cause damage, more for blocking and protecting yourself," she explained.

"Don't hold back Sonnet," he challenged. 

"Probably should anyway kid, don't want to hurt you. At least seriously hurt you." she grinned and dove towards him, the sword raised to strike him down. 

The whole fight, she made sure not to aim any serious blows at Damian. He might be a pain in the ass most days, but he was still learning and the fact that Bruce and Dick would come after her for hurting him didn't sound appealing. Rory watched his moves, careful to counter just right to test him. If Damian played his cards right, he could unarm her with just the bow.

While they were fighting, she hadn't noticed that Tim came back down the stairs. His call with Kon had gone well and should be in Gotham by the end of the day before they had to leave for patrol. He was excited because his best friend finally gets to meet his girlfriend officially and knew that he would like her immediately.

He watched as Rory and Damian fought, she was obviously the better fighter but Damian was not that far behind in skill. What he lacked came with age, the way your brain thinks things through before you act upon them. Tim and the others thought it was good that she was teaching him more defensive moves, to help protect himself. 

As the fight went on though, Damian seemed to have an edge on her. Even though his weapon was smaller and less lethal, Rory was out of her element. She had to change things around a bit to suit Damian's training but it was clear to see that he was also switching things up on her as well.

"Do you think he is going to actually beat her?" Jason asked, leaning over to Tim. For the last year, they had all been trying to beat her in a match, but no one but Cass and Bruce had managed it. Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian had gotten close but Rory still outsmarted them.

No sooner did those words leave his mouth, Rory ducked and flipped Damian over her body, as he landed on the floor with a loud crash. "Damn it! I almost had you!" 

"Language demon spawn!" 

Everyone's eyes looked over to the entrance and saw a figure standing there with an amused smile on his face. "When you said that she was good Tim, I didn't think she was that good." he chuckled.

Rory stood in the rink, confused as hell. "Who the fuck are you again?"

The black-haired boy entered the cave as Tim walked over with a smile. "You weren't supposed to be here until later!" the two of them greeted each other in a hug, Tim being shorter than the new guy.

Damian eyed Rory and got up from his spot on the floor. He wanted to at least knock her down, even if it wasn't in a fair fight. The second he was on his feet, he darted towards her. Somehow she had known he was coming because Rory ducked and grabbed his legs and threw him over her shoulder and held him there.

"You really think you can surprise me, kid? I heard your breathing from a mile away."

The black-haired boy laughed. "Funny, strong, and kick-ass, you really found a keeper here Tim." 

"Again, Timothy who the hell is this guy?" she asked, dropping Damian on his head with a grin as she heard him let out an ow.

The new guy walked over and hopped into the ring. "I'm Kon, Kon Kent." he held out his hand to her as she shook it firmly.

"Rory, Rory Queen," she answered.


	53. Chapter Fifty-Two

Grey Arrow stood outside the gates to Amusement Mile once again, somehow she had managed to convince Bruce to let her look through the area alone. Only on the condition that either Tim, Kon, or Jason were nearby and ready to drop in if she needed any help. She took a deep breath and walked in, pushing the gates open ever so slightly. 

If Ivy was here, she didn't want to be found at all. Her last two encounters with the woman were not so great, being subjected to her sex pollen and then interrogated. Grey Arrow did not want to find out what else Ivy was capable of, and neither did the others. That was why she had packed an antidote to her most known poisons. It didn't counteract all of them, but the ones she used the most. 

Looking around the park seemed more dull than usual, but that didn't mean it was empty. Using the detective mode in her mask, Grey Arrow was able to pinpoint the location of one of the tunnel entrances. She had a theory that there was more to the underground segment of Amusement Mile, and she wanted to test it. 

Slowly, she crept over to one of the entrances and pulled the door open the fresh smell of rotten eggs greeting her nose once again. The first time was bad enough, but this was worse tenfold. Grey Arrow had to take slow breaths so she didn't gag on the putrid smell. 

Dropping down the ladder, she could see that the tunnels hadn't changed that much. "Grey Arrow to Oracle, I'm in the tunnels. I should be in and out within the next fifteen minutes. If I don't respond by then, send someone after me." she spoke into her comm.

_"Copy that Rory, and be careful."_

"I try to be," she answered, and prepped her bow just in case as she walked further into the tunnels. 

It seemed like the tunnels went on and on, without any end. There was no ventilation so the smell only got worse the further in she went. It took a long time to get used to the smell and not want to gag on it. Checking the watch on her hand, Grey Arrow saw that she had only been down there for three minutes. But why did it feel so much longer?

A couple more minutes passed when she saw something on the wall, it looked like a loose panel. Carefully, she set her bow down and wrapped the tips of her fingers around the edges that stuck out from the wall and gave it a hard tug.

The panel flew off the wall and a rush of fresh air greeted her lungs. Grey Arrow let out a breath and smiled softly. Grabbing the spare marker she carried, she wrote a small note alerting the others that she had gone down in the secret passage just in case she had no reception down there still.

Poking her head in, she could see that it was another drop but it was bigger and seemed to go towards the sewage system. Why would Ivy need the sewage system?

Grabbing her bow, Grey Arrow started her slow descent down the ladder hoping it wouldn't snap and fall apart under her. As he got closer to the ground, she could hear the faint sound of rushing water. The cape was just outside of the park, so maybe it had a drainage system that led right to it? 

Dropping down the last few steps, she landed on her feet silently and crept along the walkway. The path was pitch black and she could barely see a thing, but it was so quiet Grey Arrow could hear her own heartbeat.

Her steps stayed soft as she walked, keeping an ear out for something that didn't sound right and so far there was nothing. If someone was in there with her, they were good at hiding. Grey Arrow could see a small light at the end and slowly picked up speed before she stepped in a puddle, making a slight splashing sound. 

She could tell from the sound it made, that the puddle she stepped in was not water. It was thicker, slowly she bent down and felt it with her fingers. It was thick to the touch as well, and warm. Right off the bat, she ruled out it being some toxic goop because her fingers and boot were not burning. 

But if it wasn't water and it wasn't toxic waste, then what was it? She brought her fingers up to her nose to see if it had a smell, and it did. Grey Arrow knew that smell, it was fresh blood. She wanted to turn on her flashlight but didn't know if she was alone like she had believed before. Turning on the light would alert them to her presence, and the detective mode could only pick up so much. 

Gray Arrow was walking blindly through a tunnel that had puddles of fresh blood. Fantastic. As she kept walking, she made sure to keep her bow at the ready and slowly slide a foot out as she stepped to make sure she wouldn't trip on anything lying around. 

Her foot hit something soft and she held her breath, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was. Her hand shook as she bent over to feel it, and sure enough, it was a body. Her hands felt over it to find the pulse on the neck, only to find that whoever this was, was missing it instead. 

She jumped up quickly and looked around. The body was still warm, this had happened recently. There weren't many people in Gotham capable of ripping someone's head clean off of their shoulders, neck and all. In fact, to her knowledge, there was only one that took pleasure in this kind of thing.

Grey Arrow swallowed hard and tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. If he really was in this sewer with her, then there was a good chance that he already knew she was there and her exact location. The exit was in sight and had a much better chance of making it instead of turning and running back. In fact, that was probably the worst idea ever.

The temptation to turn on her flashlight only grew, the fear of knowing whether or not the culprit was in front of her was agonizing. Resisting the urge, Grey Arrow pressed on as she carefully stepped over the body. 

She had to keep quiet, Grey Arrow would hear him coming right? The man was a seven-foot monster and was not light on his feet. Unless he was in the water...

Her heart rate spiked at that last thought, the seven-foot killing machine was one hell of a swimmer and sure could sneak up on her in the lovely river of sludge next to her if he so desired. And considering she had walked right into his territory, he probably was. 

Gray Arrow made the stupid decision to turn and look back into the river. Even though it was pitch black, she could make out a pair of yellow beady-eyes staring her down with a hidden grin inside of them.

"Well fuck." 

Without wasting another second, Grey Arrow took off down the path as she pressed the comm. "Oracle, I need help and fast." 

_"Rory? I ca- wha- ong?"_

The comm-link was weak, she had to get a signal out and quick. The water next to her started to slosh a lot from the movement within. Pressing the comm again, she was about to get out another message when a loud roar echoed through the sewer path and the monster within jumped out and continued its chase.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" she yelled, urging her feet to go faster. There was no way in hell she was going to outrun a seven-foot crocodile man that had a thirst for blood. This was bad, she was alone and had no contact with the outside.

"If anyone can hear me, I'm about to become crocodile food!" she yelled, turning on the flashlight. There was no point in hiding when he was right on her heels. There were dead bodies everywhere, some were fresh but some had begun decaying and others were ripped to shreds from his massive yellow teeth.

The end was in sight, but what awaited on the other side? Was it a fate worse than being a can of mutant crocodile chow, or could it be her saving grace? Whatever it was, she had to take the risk. She heard a metal creak behind her and watched as a large metal pipe flew over her head. Grey Arrow dropped to the floor and slid under it before it landed and kept running.

Making the stupid decision to turn backward, she saw the huge figure of Killer Croc on her heels grabbing yet another metal pole. This one he threw with better accuracy as it hit her in the back, sending Grey Arrow to the floor with a loud thud. Looking to her right, she was met with a pair of lifeless eyes whose body was missing the entire lower half of him.

She let out a scream and got up, only to be grabbed and thrown into a wall. Grey Arrow hit it with a thud, her vision going blurry but she could see the massive feet of Killer Croc stalking towards her.

Killer Croc grabbed ahold of her chest and held her up to the wall, his one hand able to wrap around her whole body. "Ivy said someone might come into my territory," he hissed. "But I never thought it to be the bat brat she so adores." 

Grey Arrow turned away, his yellow teeth dangerously close to her face as strings of saliva blew into her face making her gag. "I'm flattered, Ivy adores me?" she whimpered. Where the hell was her back up?

"She's mentioned you, said that you make this more fun for her. Think she might have a little crush." He growled, his mouth salivating more at the thought of what Grey Arrow would taste like. "I don't think she would mind if I took a bite of you." 

Her eyes squeezed shut as she retreated back into the wall as much as she could, trying to block out the deafening roar he let out. "Seems like everyone wants a piece of me." she whimpered, trying to keep the conversation going. Waylon was starting to get bored with her, and that was not going to end well.

"I bet you taste good, I haven't gotten to eat a hero before. Maybe the meat will be more tender with all that muscle." His face leaned closer, as Grey Arrow held her breath waiting for the end. This was how she was going to die, as a crocodile snack.

"I've heard people taste gross!"

Grey Arrow turned her head to the left and saw a figure dart out of the dark and knock Killer Croc over with a simple hit, his grip faltered on her but her body went with him as she rolled out of his hand across the floor.

"Let me help you with that Sunshine." she looked up and saw Superboy standing there with his hand out and the biggest grin on his face.

"You might want to help yourself first there Wonder Boy." she pointed behind him as Killer Croc got to his feet and charged at them both. He rolled his eyes and turned around, punching Killer Croc in the jaw. 

Grey Arrow got up quickly and shot explosive arrows, hoping to do some damage. With his exterior skin, Killer Croc was almost indestructible but he wasn't half Kryptonian. She watched as Superboy fought him hand to hand, while she shot perfectly placed arrows to help him out. Grey Arrow knew that she was no match for him on his own, but if she got close enough then maybe she could knock him out.

"Hey baby Supes, give me a boost!" she called. 

Superboy turned to her as she ran towards him, his hands pushing her up so she landed on top of Killer Croc. Luckily she packed a few of her electrically charged arrows and shoved them into the thick skin of his neck. 

The electric shock was powerful enough that it had knocked him out cold, and he collapsed to the floor while she was still on top of him. Quickly, she kicked off and flipped through the air as she landed next to Superboy with a wince.

When her feet hit the floor, she almost fell over but Superboy quickly caught her and helped her sit. "Not to be rude, but why the fuck are you here?" she asked, wincing as he back touched the wall.

"Oracle said she got choppy messages from you and then a loud roar. Figured I was best suited to come to check on you, you alright?" he asked, making sure there was no serious damage he needed to check on.

"I almost became crocodile food you dumbass, do you really think I'm okay?" she snapped, looking at him. Her back was in a lot of pain, but she was not going to admit it and not to Superboy of all people.

"Damn, when Red said you were snarky I didn't think you were this snarky. Holy Hell." he chuckled.

"He likes my snark, probably thinks it's hot too." she laughed, groaning when she tried to stand slowly. Superboy held her up slowly and gave her a look. 

"I think I should take you back, you look pretty banged up," he said.

"No! I did not come all the way down here, get stalked by a crocodile man, and almost eaten alive only to turn back now. No, Ivy gave him a heads up, and she has mentioned me to him. I want to find out more, you can go back alone or stick around and shut up." she said, pushing him off her.

Superboy ran a hand through his hair. Tim had told him that she hated help from others and that she was one of the most stubborn people alive. Seeing her in action, he was not wrong but knew instantly that they were perfect for each other.

"Fine, but the second we finish I'm flying you back." he crossed his arms and followed her down the walk. "Also, Wonder Boy? Isn't that the title for Robin?" he asked.

"No, that's Boy Wonder. I'm not getting the names wrong, I'm making fun of you. There's a difference Superboy." she rolled her eyes and kept walking, keeping it slow so she didn't give him a reason to take her back early.

As they walked, he helped her step over all of the dead bodies and talked about various things. From the weather to how different their two cities really were, Gotham and Metropolis being very different.

They made it to the end of the hall and saw that it had led to a giant lab that looked like it was recently abandoned. Did they just find where Ivy was making her new serum? Quietly, Grey Arrow walked in and began to look around making sure the camera captured everything and tried the comms once again.

"Oracle, are you getting this?" she asked.

_"Rory! Thank God! What the hell happened, I heard a roar and you went offline!" Barbara cried._

"I'm okay, Superboy showed up and got me out. Killer Croc tried to make me his midnight snack," she answered. "But are you seeing the footage? I think we found Ivy's old hideout." 

"This place does look abandoned." Superboy poked at a glass tube and it fell over and shattered. 

"What the fuck Wonder Boy? You're best friend is some genius and you go and touch random shit that you're not sure what it is?" Grey Arrow snapped, turning to look at him.

He gave her a sheepish grin and a shrug. "He's the genius, not me." 

Grey Arrow rolled her eyes as she kept looking around. What had caught her attention was that there was a specific vial labeled _Grey Arrow._ Her eyes went wide, why did this have her name on it, and what the hell was in it?

"What's the possibility that Ivy has some secret crush on me or something?" she asked.

_"I'm not sure, why?"_

"Because I just found a vial with my name on it," she answered.

"Hey, didn't lizard boy say that Ivy adores you?" Superboy spoke up as he looked around.

"Not helping!" she snapped. "I'm bringing this back to the cave, maybe we can figure out what was in it." 

At her words, Superboy picked her up and flew the two of them out of there. Killer Croc was still knocked out, but Batman knew where he was so he could pick him up later if he really wanted to. 

As they flew, the weird feeling in her stomach came back. "You drop me, I will find the closest piece of kryptonite and shove it up your ass." she snapped. 

Superboy looked down at her and laughed. "Don't tell me you're afraid of heights or flying." 

"I'm not afraid of anything Wonder Boy, it's all Superman's fault. He's the guy who flew me across Star City at top speed. I was nauseous for a week!" she cried, hanging on tight.

The two of them flew into the cave where Oracle and Alfred were waiting on them. "Miss Aurora, I see you are in decent condition." he smiled. "No fatal wounds this time?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but not this time. But I did get a metal pole to the back, is that fatal enough for you?" she laughed, discarding the top piece to her suit leaving her in a tank top. 

"I will never be disappointed in the lack of injuries, but let me have a look at that back of yours. I can hear you wincing from a mile away," he replied.

Alfred helped Rory onto the table as he lifted the back of her shirt slowly to inspect her back. Sure enough, there was a bruise forming there, but so were several others from Killer Croc's killer grip. There wasn't much he could do other than put some soothing gel on it and wrap her torso in bandages.

Rory needed help holding her arms up, so it was a little odd when Kon walked over and helped. It was even weirder when Tim arrived back to see his best friend with his girlfriend who was currently topless as she was getting wrapped up. 

"You know, most guys would be pretty pissed to see his best friend and girlfriend in this position," he commented as he walked over, pulling the cowl off his head. 

Rory flipped him off, making both him and Kon laugh as Alfred helped her get her shirt back on. Tim walked over and placed a kiss on her cheek and making a face at the odd substance on her skin. "What the hell is that?"

"Oh, that? It's just crocodile man hybrid spit, it's everywhere," she answered, grabbing the towel and wiping it off her face. Rory felt gross, she was tossed around a sewer and was covered in all kinds of disgusting filth. 

"Did you find anything?" he asked, wiping the spots she couldn't reach.

"Yeah, Ivy is harboring a huge crush on me and there was a vial with my name on it. Babs is looking into it now," she said.

"Why is it that you seem to attract the attention of all the criminals here in Gotham?" Tim asked, wrapping his arms around her waist while she was still sat on the medical table.

"They just seemed to be drawn to my dazzling personality Dragon Boy." she chuckled and cupped his cheek before placing a kiss on his lips. "But don't worry, I'm only yours." 

"It better stay that way." he laughed and kissed her again.


	54. Chapter Fifty-Three

"So explain to me again, what exactly was in the vial?" Rory asked, wincing as she sat up straighter in her chair. Tim let out a sigh as he helped her out, trying to make sure she was in the least amount of pain possible. 

Barbara wheeled around to look at them as she held up the empty vial. Rory was correct in assuming that there were leftover traces of something in it, but she was unsure of what it could be. That was why she had brought it back in the first place.

"Again, that's not entirely clear yet. The only thing I have found is traces of your DNA, Ivy must have gotten a hold of a strand of hair or something to use in this. What she used it for, I don't want to know. Her powers are constantly evolving and she is nothing short of a genius either, the real question is why did she have it in the first place?" Babs said.

"I heard Croc say something about you being the bat brat she adores so much, I may be a little behind on my homework but why does she have this apparent thing for little miss sunshine again?" Kon crossed his arms and put his feet up on the table in front of him. 

Rory shot him a frown and kicked his feet off with her own, "That's a need to know basis." she snapped.

Jason let out a laugh. "That, or she's embarrassed about what happened." he teased.

Grabbing the closest thing to her, which just so happened to be her cup from earlier that morning. "Fuck you Princess!" she threw it at his head and watched it bounce off the same spot on his forehead and shatter on the floor.

"What the hell! Why do you always throw shit at my head!" he yelled, grabbing the pear next to him and throwing it at her head in retaliation. Rory caught it before it even got close to her face with an unamused expression as she took a bite of it. 

"I told you, your head is so big it's great for target practice," she answered, her mouth full. 

"Hold on, why would she be embarrassed by it?" Kon asked, looking between the two. 

"She kissed Ivy to protect me," Tim said quickly, Rory turning to look at him with a shocked expression. 

"I should have thrown it at you Timothy!" she cried, shoving him off the chair and watching as he fell onto the floor with a soft thud. "Why the hell did you tell him!?"

"I could keep going on about what happened after that as well?" Tim threatened with a grin.

Rory frowned. "You so much as breathe what happened, I will make sure you regret it." she threatened.

Kon watched the two of them with an amused expression, Tim talked about Rory all the time. Every time they talked, he had a new thing to tell him about her, and Kon thought it was sweet seeing how much he adored Rory. They really were made for each other, maybe at first glance, it wasn't seeable because she was so rough and abrasive, and Tim almost the exact opposite; but seeing them interact like this he could see that they complimented each other in a way that no one else could. 

Tim laughed at her comment and got back up on the chair, kissing her cheek. "You still love me though." he grinned.

"Somehow, I still do." she smiled and took his hand. "But back to the vial. The incident with ivy could be influencing her obsession with me. But nothing like that has happened since, so why would she?"

"Are you really trying to understand how these villains think? Most of them are criminally insane, if not worse." Stephanie spoke up. 

"Brown has a point, every time we try to understand them we get set back," Damian said. "So why don't we giver her what she wants?"

"What, you mean world domination? Yeah, I'm sure that would go over well." Jason muttered.

"He means me, if Ivy really has taken a liking to me then maybe I can get some information," Rory said, looking around.

"Absolutely not! Rory, you just survived an encounter with Killer Croc and you want to push fate even more and go pay a visit to Ivy? Not to mention, we don't even know where she is still." Tim said looking at her.

It's like she had a death wish. Rory had barely made it out alive, she wouldn't have if Kon didn't show up in time and Tim was not going to let her put herself in that kind of position again. Not if he had anything to say about it.

"Tim, this might be our only chance! I doubt she would hurt me." Rory reasoned.

"No, but she might just try and sleep with you." he countered.

Her face flushed as she went quiet, not saying another word. Of course, that's what he would be worried about, but it made sense. The last time Ivy had kissed her, she had tried to get Tim to sleep with her and there was no telling what Ivy would do to her if she got ahold of Rory again.

"You know I'm right, you are not going. Besides, you can barely move Songbird I don't want to see you in a hospital again." 

Rory let out a sigh as she looked at him. Slowly she reached her hand out and cupped his cheek, making him look at her. "Tim, I get you worry about me, but this is my job. If this helps save lives, then I need to do it. I can't just sit by and watch, especially when I know that I can do some good. I've been on the sidelines too much and I am way too deep in this case to not help. You just have to trust me." she explained.

"It's not you that I don't trust Rory." 

"Then trust that I won't put myself in that position? No matter what you say, you can not stop me but I don't want to go behind your back," she said.

Tim's eyes softened as he listened to her speak. If he was in her position, he would fighting even harder to make sure he was the one who went. It came with the job of a hero, making the plays and sacrifices that others can't. He placed his hand over the one she had on his cheek and kissed her palm.

"Alright, but I am waiting right outside and so is Kon. I'm not letting you get hurt again." 

"Well, we are partners Dragon Boy, for better or worse." she smiled.

"Can you two not be so sappy for ten minutes? Holy hell." Jason chuckled.

"Butt out Princess," she said, turning to look at him.

"Make me Sleeping Beauty." He grinned.

Even though she was hurt, Rory still managed to get Jason in a headlock even though he was almost a foot taller than she was. Bruce had come back down from the Manor to see Rory holding Jason by the head, threatening to suffocate him if he ever called her that again only for Jason to laugh and say it again.

Rory squeezed tighter, making Jason tap out. "Uncle! Uncle!" he rasped as Rory let go. "Why are you so violent?"

"Only around idiots Princess, I'm guessing coming back from the dead fried some of your brain cells." she laughed, trying to hide the whimper of pain. The pole Killer Croc threw at her really messed up her back, but Rory was not going to let it stop her.

"Have you guys found anything?" Bruce asked, with a raised brow. He had a strong feeling of what the answer was but wanted to see if they were going, to be honest with him.

"Well, there were traces of my DNA in the vial," Rory said, sitting back down next to Tim.

"And?" he asked, waiting for more.

"And what B? That's all we have so far." Jason said.

Bruce let out a sigh as he held his forehead. "I have left you alone for an hour, and that's all you could come up with?" he asked.

"Hey! Rory threw stuff at my head!" Jason pointed a finger at her.

"You were being an idiot, still are actually. Might want to keep your distance." she grinned.

"I watched you throw a dagger hundreds of yards! I doubt any distance is safe from you." he threw his hands in the air.

"Then you better watch your back Princess." she grinned.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, why was it the only responsible ones were gone? Cassandra was the most responsible of them all, and she was in England with Kate, the other really responsible one. Dick had his moments, but half of the time he was part of the problem while he egged on Jason and Tim. 

"Can we please be serious for twenty minutes?" he asked. "Do we have any idea where Ivy could be?"

"She wasn't at Amusement Mile, but there was evidence that she was. I made sure to get as much of the place in my suit footage as I could before Kon flew us out of there." Rory explained. "The others didn't do so well in finding her. The only other place I can think of is the Bowery, which has a lot of open space and ACE Chemicals."

"None of us think that she would go to ACE Chemicals though it's too obvious. Besides, that place is watched by Two-Face these days. He and Ivy have never been on good terms." Tim said.

"Well, I doubt Croc and Ivy were ever on good terms but he let her into his sewer. Did we forget she has her toxins, she could be using it on all these people to get the things she wants? Two-Face included even Penguin." Steph said, taking a bite of her burrito.

"Those are all valid points, so what do you think we should do?" Bruce asked looking at all the people in front of him. He wanted to know what they think and challenge their minds to see if they could come up with ideas together.

"Well, we are short a couple of people but I think two teams will work," Barbara said. "I can still run things here with the help of Alfred, and you all split into teams and tackle the Bowery and ACE Chemicals."

"So Tim, Kon, and I could be a team and the others are a team with Bruce?" Rory asked.

"I think that's fair since you have alien boy there, he can make up for the lack of manpower," Jason said as he pointed his thumb at Kon.

"I feel like I should be offended, but then I remember who I'm sitting with and realize that this is normal," Kon spoke up. "But I'm down with it, it could be fun." 

"Alright, we'll tackle this all tomorrow. Kon, Alfred set up a room for you it's the same room you had last time you were here." Bruce said.

Steph got up and darted for her room, she was exhausted and wanted nothing more to do for the rest of the night except sleep it all off. Barbara and Damian walked to the elevator, talking as they went about various things. 

Jason let out a yawn and walked up the stairs as Tim helped Rory to her feet. Kon walked with the two of them as they made their way up the stairs, which proved to be a bit of a struggle for her. 

Tim let out a sigh. "Just let me carry you Songbird, that way you'll be in less pain." 

"No way Timothy, I don't need help. Just gotta take it slow, that's it," she said, wincing as she walked up to them.

"Come on Sunshine, let us help you," Kon asked.

"Why the hell are you calling my sunshine?" she asked, taking another step upwards. 

"Because your name means dawn, and that's when the sun rises? Why do you call me Wonder Boy?" he countered.

"Because you're Superman's sidekick not Wonder Woman's," she answered. A sharp pain shot up her back, making her collapse into Tim's arms who caught her before picking her up completely.

"Tim put me down!" she snapped.

"Not happening. Now shut up and let me help you, it's my job as your boyfriend," he said, carrying her up to her room. The three of them walked up the stairs faster than before and made it to their rooms. The one Kon was sleeping in was next to Tim's even though he stayed in Rory's room most nights.

They both bid him goodnight before Tim carried Rory into her room and set her on the bed carefully. He walked over to her drawers and pulled out a set of pajamas for her and held them out to her.

Rory had managed to change on her own, but her back was killing her. The soothing gel Alfred had put on her back earlier had worn off and the pain was back worse than before. Luckily, he had sent up the jar to her room.

"Tim, can you help me get some of this on my back?" she asked.

He smiled at her and took the jar from her hands with a nod. "Of course, turn around."

Rory turned her back to him as she lifted her shirt slowly, as the two of them unwrapped the bandage slowly to reveal her bareback. Tim winced when he saw the large bruises forming over her body, the finger marks from Killer Croc's grip evident on her sides and back. 

He opened the jar and rubbed some of the gel on his hands to warm it up before rubbing it across her back slowly. Rory jumped a little, the gel still cold but slowly relaxed into his hands as it soothed her back. She had to admit that it was a nicer experience with Tim doing it and not Alfred while his best friend helped.

Talk about awkward.

As he rubbed the gel on her back, Rory thought about Tim and Kon. Their friendship seemed strong, like how Rory and Roy's was. So close, they were like family and no one questioned it. She knew that he was excited for them to meet, and Rory didn't hate Kon at all. In fact, it was the opposite, he was fun to be around and fun to pick on. He was almost as snarky as she was, and it was fun to bicker with him.

Tim placed kisses on her shoulders as he rubbed the gel on her back, as she sat in between his legs. Once he was one, Tim helped her wrap the bandage back around her before she lowered her shirt. Turning to look at him, Rory placed a kiss on his lips. His want went to her cheek as he smiled into the kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked, the smile still on his face.

"I just love you is all." she smiled, as she laid back on the bed carefully wincing as her back touched the mattress.

Tim watched her with a sigh and laid on his back and pulled her onto his chest, laying on her stomach instead. He grabbed the comforter and pulled it over them both, keeping his hands on her waist not wanting to touch her back. 

Rory wrapped her hands around his waist and nuzzled her face into his neck, not wanting to move from that spot. She loved moments like this, the quiet serene moments they shared at the ends of the day. Neither one of them had to talk, they just enjoyed the company of the other person as they laid close together.

His hand went up and played with her hair, as she smiled at the touch. "I love you, Tim," she said once again.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too Rory, is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say it," she muttered, as sleep began to take over her. Tim watched as her eyes fluttered shut, and was soon asleep in his arms. She was so peaceful when she slept, not a trace of worry on her beautiful face. It was at times like this she was his literal Sleeping Beauty, but Tim would never tell her he thought that. It was something he wanted to keep for himself, a moment he would treasure forever. 

Her face was relaxed, free from the troubles of the outside world. He wished it would stay like that, but it never did; not with the lives they lived. Tim kissed her head once more before he too closed his eyes and fell asleep with the love of his life in his arms.


	55. Chapter Fifty-Four

"Kon will meet us there, are you sure that you are ready to go out and do this Rory?" Tim asked, pulling the cowl over his face. Rory looked over at him and nodded as she placed her mask on her face.

"Yes Tim, I am sure. Just please don't worry so much about me that you don't take care of yourself?" she asked, adjusting the strap to her quiver of arrows.

Tim gave her a look. "I only worry about you so much because I love you," he said cupping her cheek. Rory stepped closer and pressed her lips to his softly as he gripped her waist tightly. "I just want you to stay safe Songbird," he said. 

Rory leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. " I can protect myself, you know that," she said.

"Of course I know that, but that doesn't mean I will stop worrying about you." He held her face in his hand while keeping the grip on her waist. He watched a smile grace her face as she leaned in to kiss him once more.

"Once all of this is over, maybe we can take that trip to Paris that we've been talking about," she said placing her hands on his shoulders.

"And I can kiss you under the Paris lights and dance you around beneath the stars," he said with a smile. 

"Sounds perfect, but we need to finish up this case first." Rory pulled away and got onto her bike, kicking it on. Tim followed and climbed onto his and followed her out of the cave and towards ACE Chemicals. 

The drive over was quiet other than the usual nighttime ambiance. ACE Chemicals was very easy to spot, it was on the outside of the city and had very bright lighting. It was a massive chemical plant, it's where Joker dropped Harley into the toxic waste and started her life of crime. If Ivy was looking for some sort of chemical mixture, this would be the place to find it.

The two of them pulled up and hopped off their bikes, seeing Superboy there waiting for them in his leather jacket. "About time the two of you showed up," he said, throwing his arms into the air.

"Sorry, had to have a little chat before we left. Have you seen anything yet though?" Grey Arrow asked as she walked over. 

"Not really, no. There's so much going on inside, I can't tell any of it apart." Superboy responded. "So what's the plan boss?" 

Red Robin gave him a look of confusion. "Why are you calling her boss? Normally I'm the leader." 

"She is older and therefore smarter and wiser than you are." he grinned.

Grey Arrow gave him an approving smile. "I'm liking him more and more, keep that up and I might just come and visit you myself in Metropolis." she chuckled.

Red Robin rolled his eyes. "Haha, you both are hilarious. But since you are the boss, what's the plan Arrow?" 

"I say we try to stick together as much as we can. I know we won't cover much ground, but it's safer. Especially when we are possibly going against Ivy here. We don't know what exactly we are walking into and might need a quick getaway." she explained.

The two boys gave her a nod. The first priority was to see if Ivy was even there or not and then take the necessary actions to stop her if she was. Red Robin didn't like the idea that Grey Arrow was working with them, but he couldn't leave her home. She was too deep into this case to be left behind, and as much as he hated to admit it; maybe she could try and talk to Ivy and see what she knew. 

"Sounds like a plan to me, let's get going," Superboy said and started to walk into the building with Grey Arrow and Red Robin on his tail.

The three of them walked carefully, making sure that they didn't trigger any trap. So far, there was no sign of any plant life so that was a good sign for them. That meant fewer chances of Ivy actually being there. 

ACE Chemicals smelled terrible, it was more than to rotten egg smell that lingered under Amusement Mile. It was rotten eggs mixed with soured milk and it made them want to vomit upon the first waft they got in their noses. Grey Arrow kept her bow at the ready, ignoring the pain in her back.

Her encounter with Killer Croc the night before had left her with a sore back, but if she told anyone including Red Robin that she was still in pain, they would have left her home without a second thought. She didn't want that, Grey Arrow wanted a chance to talk to Ivy and see why she was obsessed with her so much.

The building was quiet, unnaturally so that it set them all on edge. Just because Ivy might not be there didn't mean that no one else was, Two-Face was the one running the area after all.

The three of them jumped into the air when a metal barrel clattered to the floor behind them. Quickly Grey Arrow turned to look and watched as the barrel rolled towards them at a slow speed. She stopped it with her foot and looked at the other two who were on edge even more so. 

"What knocked this over?" Red Robin asked as he looked around. Superboy and Grey Arrow began to look around as well, but the area started to fog up. With all the chemicals mixing under them, it was getting dangerous to be in there without gas masks. Superboy was safe, he was a clone of Superman. Red Robin and Grey Arrow, however? That was a different story.

"We need to get to higher ground," Superboy said. "There's a set of rafters up there, I can fly you both up, and then I can grab a set of masks."

Grey Arrow gave him a nod. "Alright, take Red up first. I'll keep watch from down here," she said.

Before he could even object, Superboy grabbed the back of Red Robin's suit and lifted him into the air, and flew up towards the rafters where the gas concentration was lower. Raising an arm to cover her nose and mouth, Grey Arrow kept an eye out. Someone was down here with them, but who was it?

Superboy had landed next to her and looked around. "You ready Sunshine?" he asked. 

She gave him a nod and he lifted her into the air where Red Robin was waiting for them. "Told you she would be fine, you need to relax some there Red." Superboy chuckled as he dove back down to look for a pair of masks for them to wear.

Red Robin and Grey Arrow kept an eye out, their vision getting a little blurry from all the gas as it made their eyes water. Neither of them noticed as a vine climbed up one of the poles and slowly wrap itself around Grey Arrow's ankle. 

She didn't even get the chance to get a word out before it tightened it's grip and tried to pull her down to the lower levels once again. Quickly, her hand caught onto a pole and held on for dear life. "Red! Help!" she cried.

He dove over and grabbed her hands, trying to pull her back up with a groan. "What the hell!" He pulled out a Batarang and threw it at the vine, cutting it below her foot as the rest of it retreated back to the area below. 

That gave them the answer they were wanting though, Poison Ivy was in ACE Chemicals, and she knew where they were making Grey Arrow and Red Robin a pair of sitting ducks. Red Robin pulled her back up and held onto her tightly, not letting his gaze falter in the slightest. 

It wasn't the best idea, cutting the plant but he had to get Grey Arrow free. It was obvious Ivy knew that she was with them and was actively targeting her because of it. Superboy had just arrived with the masks and gave them to the two heroes who clung together at the top of the room.

Grey Arrow took it and slipped it over her face and looked around. "Ivy is here, she's tried to grab me once already. We need to get out and call Batman," she said.

"That's not going to happen pretty bird, I won't let you stop me." 

The three of them looked around. Ivy could clearly hear them, but they couldn't see her. The room was filled with thick gas and they could barely see anything. "We need to leave, now!" Red Robin said. 

They all jumped down from the rafter and rolled into a landing, no sooner did they jump a vine had come up from behind and tried to grab Grey Arrow once again. As they landed on the grate below, Red Robin helped Grey Arrow to her feet. "Let's get you out of here." 

A vine appeared and wrapped around Superboy, throwing him into a wall with a loud thud. Red Robin and Grey Arrow watched as he disappeared into the thick gas with wide eyes and stood back to back so they could see where they were coming from.

"You really think that you can get away from me?" Ivy sounded from around the room.

"Come on, we're friends, right? Why don't you show yourself and we can talk girl to girl!" Grey Arrow called an arrow at the ready just in case.

"Sorry pretty bird, but the time for talking has passed." another vine shot out of the thick gas and wrapped around Red Robin and drug him away.

"No!" Grey Arrow tried to go after him, but he disappeared with a yell before she could catch him as his hand slipped out of hers. "That's it, Ivy! Give him back!" she demanded aiming her bow into the dense gas.

"Why would I want to do that?" The voice sounded like it had come from behind, quickly she turned and shot an arrow only to see nothing there. "He's my bargaining chip with you right now." 

"I'll blow us all sky high if you don't give him back Pamela! One explosive arrow into the right vat and we all go up in flames." she threatened. Ivy seemed to take her threat at least mostly serious because she stepped out of the fog, her red hair flowing around from all the ventilation.

"Not many people call me Pamela, you must really want him back," she said, leaning to one side.

Grey Arrow quickly raised her bow, aiming it at Ivy. "Where are they?" she demanded.

Ivy eyed Grey Arrow and the bow aimed right at her, placing a hand on her hip she began to circle her with a grin. "Why should I tell you? Those two boys are what's keeping you civil right now. I know for a fact that you wouldn't blow us all up, not when your lover is at risk." 

Grey Arrow's eyes didn't leave Ivy's figure as she let out a growl. Of course, she would have known about her and Red Robin. "Lover or not, I want him and our friend back or you can forget any kind of deal from me." 

"A deal? In exchange for the safety of your two friends, what will you give me?" Ivy asked, stopping in front of Rory looking down at her as she ran a finger up the underneath of her chin.

"What do you want from me?" Grey Arrow asked, leaning away from her touch. She knew Ivy was likely not going to poison her with a single touch, she was waiting for a kiss no doubt.

"There are plenty of things I want from you, it's quite a long list in fact but I doubt your lover will approve of such activities." Ivy teased, making Grey Arrow look up at her. "Besides, I wouldn't force myself upon you. At first at least, eventually, you'll be willing enough in time." 

Grey Arrow let out a growl and knocked her hand away. "Don't touch me, just answer my fucking question. What do you want?" she demanded again.

Ivy let out a sigh, "You make things so difficult. What I want is simple really, all you have to do is say yes." 

"I'm not playing around Ivy, what do you want." she snapped.

"I want you. Since the day we first met, you left quite an impression on me. Not many people have told me to kiss them, knowing what was going to happen to them." she replied.

Grey Arrow narrowed her eyes. "I'm not something you can just have, Ivy. Besides, the answer is no." 

Ivy glared. "Are you sure that's your final answer? I don't want to drop these fine-looking boys into these vats of chemicals for no reason." at her words the thick gas cleared out and Grey Arrow could see Superboy and Red Robin being held over a vat of chemicals as they struggled to get free.

"Don't do it Sunshine! I doubt this will hurt me!" Superboy called.

"You can't let her take advantage of you Arrow! We'll get out of this!" Red Robin yelled.

Grey Arrow growled. "You hurt them, and you can forget about any kind of deal." she snapped. Her eyes met Red Robin's, he didn't look that worried but it was still present in his eyes. if she dropped him, there was no certainty that he would be able to grapple out in time. 

"You have to accept my deal, and the terms are non-negotiable." Ivy grinned.

"I'm not a prize for you to win Pamela! My answer is no!" she yelled and rolled away shooting an arrow at Red Robin, the grappling part of it attaching to his cape before he could fall in as the vine let go of him and Superboy.

Ivy didn't like this one bit. With a snarl, she sent vine after vine towards Grey Arrow who managed to fight them off before one wrapped around her ankle once again and dangled her from her feet in the air, her bow and arrows falling into the vat she was dangled over.

"Hey! Those were a Christmas present you bitch!" she yelled, reaching up to try and pull at the vine on her ankle. Another sprout up and grabbed her hands, holding her dangerously close to the bubbling substance. 

"You should have taken my offer, and now you will pay the price." she snapped. Grey Arrow looked down and watched as her bow and quiver of arrows bubbled and melted into the toxic waste that started to turn a sickly brown color.

"I doubt you will live long enough to climb out this stuff, it already destroyed your weapon," she said.

Grey Arrow looked around to see if she could find Red Robin and Superboy. The latter was sneaking up behind Ivy while the former was above them, trying to get close enough to try and stop her from falling.

"Hey Ivy! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" Superboy called.

Ivy rolled her eyes as several vines knocked him backward again. "You really think that you are a match for me?" she asked.

"No, but they are!" Superboy pointed behind Ivy with a grin. Quickly she turned and saw that Red Robin was hanging from his grapple to try and get Grey Arrow free.

Red Robin reached out a hand to try and grab her, but Ivy flipped Grey Arrow around and held her higher. Grey Arrow hung from her wrists as Ivy dangled her in front of Red Robin. "You want her back? Try and catch her." she grinned and let go.

Grey Arrow let out a scream as she fell, trying to grab onto anything she could. Her hand was just out of reach as she watched Red Robin dive after her. She felt a hand grab onto hers and he held on tight for dear life. Looking up, Red Robin had caught her but he was hanging from the railing of the walking path with his own hand. 

"Don't let go Arrow, okay? I'll get you out of this," he said calmly. There was a grunt above them and they watched as Superboy was slammed into another wall. He tried to fly down and catch them, but Ivy was quicker and knocked him away once more.

"Red, you can't hold on forever. You have to let me go," she said, looking around.

Red Robin shook his head. "There is no way in hell I am ever letting you go Arrow, just hold on okay?" he said and tried to pull them up as he groaned, straining the muscle in his arms. Grey Arrow could feel her gloved hands slipping from his grip, there was no way he could hold onto her much longer, or they both would fall in. 

"Baby look at me, please." she pleaded. Red Robin looked down at her, trying to keep his grip on her."Let me go, it's okay." 

He shook his head. "No, just a little longer! Batman should be here soon, and we will get out of this." The desperation in his voice was evident, he didn't want to let go. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but even he knew that he couldn't hold on forever.

"It's okay, I promise," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I love you, and no matter what happens I always will."

"I love you too..." he muttered, trying his damndest to keep a grip of her hand that was slipping more and more. 

Grey Arrow gave him a soft smile, her hand sliding out of the glove in his hand as she plummeted down to the vats below. Red Robin yelled out her name as he watched her fall, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain but instead she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and move her out of the way. The figure held her close as they tumbled to the floor, puddles of acid everywhere that burned pieces of her suit.

Looking up, she saw the familiar face of Arsenal. "I leave for two weeks and you almost die again? Jesus Christ Arrow," he muttered and helped her up. 

Red Robin let out a sigh of relief and felt a hand pull him up. He turned his head to see who it was, noticing that it was Batman. "Is everyone okay?" he asked. Red Robin gave him a nod and looked down to where Grey Arrow was with Arsenal.

"We almost weren't B, thanks," he said.

Looking around, he saw that Ivy was gone but the others were there with him. "What did I miss?" he asked.

"Well, Ivy took off. She saw us all coming and made a break for it, it seems like we missed a party here though." Red Hod said, putting one of his guns in his holster.

"Yeah! I almost fucking died, again!" 

They all looked over and saw Arsenal grapple up, holding tight to Grey Arrow. Red Robin didn't care who saw them, but he ran over and pulled her into a passionate kiss as he wrapped his arms around her. "Don't you ever do that again," he muttered.

Grey Arrow held him close to her as she kissed him back. Never in her life had she been so scared, seeing the look on his face as she fell was not something she wanted to remember.

"Falling to my death isn't how I want to go out, don't worry," she muttered against his lips. "I'm okay, not a burn on me." she smiled.

"Other than your suit, that's gonna need a patch job," Arsenal said crossing his arms. 

"Ivy isn't going to stop, if anything she is going to speed up the process." Spoiler said, walking up to them as she supported a winded Superboy. "We need to keep an eye out, it's only going to get worse than this."

"I don't see how almost falling into a vat of toxic waste isn't as bad as it gets." Grey Arrow muttered as she leaned against Red Robin for support, her back in aching pain now.

"Um, well standing on top of City Hall with the serum in her hands is a good place to start. You three must have really pissed her off if she moved up her schedule by a couple of months." Red Rood said looking at the newsfeed.

The others all tuned in, and sure enough, there was Ivy with Harley and several others from the Rogues Gallery in Gotham on top of City Hall. Grey Arrow let out a sigh. "Well this night keeps getting better and better," she muttered.


	56. Chapter Fifty-Five

The area was dead silent as Rory started down Tim with a steely glare. "I'm going and that's final." she snapped.

"No you aren't, I already almost lost you once tonight. I am not risking your life again," he answered, his gaze just as hard as hers. 

"That's not your decision to make Tim! It's like my life and I get to chose if I risk it or not, isn't that the point of this job? Risking our lives to protect the innocent?" she cried, looking at him.

"Yes, it is your choice Rory but you have no suit and no weapons. I am not stupid enough to let you come along because then I might actually lose you!" he pleaded.

Tim was angry, how could she not see that he was trying to protect her? He hated the idea of leaving her behind, but he knew that she would be safe in the cave if she stayed there. There was no way she could protect herself, her bow was gone and so were her arrows. 

"You won't lose me, Tim! I can take care of myself!" she yelled back, her own anger flaring. Rory knew he was worried about her, but there was no reason to. She always took care of herself, and she wasn't going to stop now.

"You don't know that!" he yelled. "Damn it, Rory, why can't you let me protect you for once? Is it so bad that I want to keep you safe?!" 

Rory's eyes widened as she looked stunned, Tim had never raised his voice at her before. She knew that she was pressing buttons, but if she wasn't there then who would make sure that he came back to her? They made a promise to protect each other, and she was not going to break it. Not now, and not ever.

It was a few moments before she spoke again, this time her voice was softer. "I know you want to keep me safe, don't you think that's all I want for you? I'm not perfect, far from it, but if I'm not there who is going to make sure you don't do something stupid and I lose you?" she asked.

Tim let out a sigh, "I love you Rory, but you are in no condition to go back out. Don't think I didn't notice your back was still hurting. Without your suit and bow, I would be too worried about you and I can't take that risk." He took her hand and held it tightly in how own. "I will fight to my dying breath if it meant that you stayed safe and out of harm's way."

Rory stepped closer and pressed her lips to his. "Let me help you, please?" she begged.

He held her waist and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry Songbird, but you're not going." Tim looked at Roy and gave him a nod. "Take her home."

Before she could protest, Roy had wrapped his arms around Rory and drug her to his bike as she thrashed in his arms. "Rory Harper, let me go now!" she yelled. he tightened his grip on her and pulled her onto the bike and took off while she screamed for him to take her back.

It didn't matter that they were out of sight, Rory still screamed. "Take me back now!" she cried. tears fell from her eyes as she tried to convince her friend to take her back. Tim and the others needed her, she knew they did but he was so stubborn that he wasn't going to let her fight.

Roy kept his hold on her tight, hoping that she didn't try something crazy and crash the bike so she could make a break for it and run back. The entrance to the cave came into view after a few minutes, Rory had stopped yelling and was crying silently. Even when they pulled into the cave, she just sat there with a defeated look on her face.

He stood there and watched her cry before he pulled her off and sat her on a chair. "What the hell is wrong with you Twinkle Toes?" he asked.

Rory sniffed and looked up at him. "What the fuck are you talking about Roy?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"I mean, all the risks you have been taking. If you even thought clearly, you would see that he was right. You are in no condition to fight, but what I want to know is why are you crying about it?" he crossed his arms.

She looked taken aback, since when was Roy an asshole to her? "Why am I crying? Because Tim is out there, and he is even more reckless than I am. If he isn't careful then he will get himself killed." she sniffed.

"That's never stopped you before, in fact, nothing would stop you. So, what's stopping you now?" he asked, looking down at her.

Rory was even more confused, Roy looked angry with her but about what? "Why are you mad at me?" 

"Because you're being selfish. Crying because he sent you home? Rory, you have snuck out of the manor before so what is stopping you from doing it now?" he snapped.

"I-I don't know..." she stuttered, worried about his sudden change in behavior.

"You don't know? Yes, you do, you just don't want to admit it, Rory. Just say it and we can all go on with our lives." he yelled.

"Roy, don't," she warned.

"You're weak," he snapped.

"Stop it." 

"You're not good enough," he continued, his gaze hard and cold.

"Roy, I'm warning you." she pleaded.

"And one day Tim is going to wake up and realize you aren't who he thought you were and leave." 

Rory stood up from her seat and punched Roy in the face, blood spurting from his nose. A hard look was on her face as she punched him one more time, Roy falling onto the floor while he held his nose that was broken again. 

"Don't you ever speak to me like that again. I'm not weak, I am good enough and Tim won't leave me," she growled. "I'm scared that something bad will happen Roy, and that I won't be there to stop it."

Roy looked up at her, "So what the hell is stopping you?" 

She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. Roy was right, what was stopping her? Nothing was actually holding her back, it had always been herself that was holding her back. Since when did Aurora Queen listen to directions given to her by anyone? She had beaten death multiple times, survived the Joker, Killer Croc, and Deathstroke, and even took down a french drug ring. 

Aurora Queen was a fighter and nothing was going to stand in her way. 

Looking down she saw that Roy had a grin on his face, he wanted to piss her off. He above all people knew that she was stubborn as fuck and needed to be hit on the head in order to see sense. She reached down and helped him up. "You're right Roy. Nothing is stopping me." 

"Glad to hear that, and it's a good thing I brought back what I promised." 

He walked over and pulled out two briefcases from the back of his own bike and set them on the table. Rory pressed her thumb to the print scanner to the first one and saw that it was a brand new bow, refitted to her liking, and a quiver with even more kinds of arrows that she could use. 

"Roy, this is beautiful. But I still don't have a suit," she said. 

"Open the second one."

She gave him a skeptical look as she opened the second, her eyes widening at what was on the inside of it. Her fingers traced over the designs of the suit, the gold accents standing out from the solid coloring. Picking it up, the fabric was light; lighter than her last suit and it seemed more flexible than before.

Looking at Roy, she set it down softly. "Roy, I can't accept this. I'm not ready." 

"You said so yourself Twinkle Toes, nothing is stopping you. Oliver, Dinah, and I all think you're ready. Even Jesse had said that you were ready for this, he had gotten to see the designs before he died and agreed." 

Hearing that Jesse thought she was ready, made her heart swell, he had always thought she was meant for bigger things. So maybe this was her chance to prove him and the others right. She was ready for this and more, and no one was going to stand in her way. Closing the case, she picked it up and kissed Roy's cheek before she ran to go change. 

Gotham City needed her, and so did her boyfriend.

*****

"Weren't you a little harsh on her?" Spoiler asked as they got on their bikes. 

"I need to keep her safe, and that's with Roy at the Manor," he answered. Looking around, he watched as Bruce and Damian climbed into the Batmobile and Red Hood, Spoiler, and himself were ready to go with Superboy hovering above them. "She'll forgive me for this, but I won't forgive myself if she got hurt when I knew I could prevent it." 

Without another word, they all took off into the night towards City hall. They pushed the speed limits, with Ivy in the middle of the city, and holding that serum there was no telling what damage she could cause. 

Pulling into the city, they saw that the area around City Hall was being evacuated and the Bat-signal was high in the sky. Parking about half a mile away, they all took to the rooftops and ran the rest of the way. 

According to the news, Ivy had not only Two-Face and Penguin under her control but Mister Freeze and Clayface. This was going to cause a problem, it had been a while since there were so many in one place and two of them were mob bosses with plenty of men at their disposal. Once they were close enough, they saw that City Hall was encased in a wall of ice courtesy of Mister Freeze with Two-Face and Penguin keeping guard. Clayface and Harley must be inside with Ivy as she set up the serum to be airborne.

"We have to take out Two-Face, Penguin, and Mister Freeze if we even want to get close to Ivy. That's not counting Harley and Clayface inside with her." Red Hood said. 

"So do we focus all of our efforts into stopping them or what?" Spoiler asked. 

"We are really low in our ranks, even if we didn't sideline Arrow we would still be short," Superboy said.

_"Good thing I called in some reinforcements," Oracle said._

No sooner did she speak, several figures landed next to them. Red Robin let out a huff as he saw his brother there with Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Superman himself. "Nice to see you Nightwing." he chuckled.

"Good to see you too babybird, I leave town for a week and everything goes to hell?" he asked looking at Batman.

"I had this under control," he said.

"Sure you did big guy." Nightwing patted Batman's shoulder and stood next to Red Hood. "Oracle called us all, well Supes intercepted and decided to drop in. Figured he could help with Orphan and Batwoman in England still." 

"Where's Grey Arrow?" Black Canary asked. 

"She's safe back at the cave, I had Arsenal take her back. Her suit and bow got ruined." Red Robin explained.

"But she's okay?" Green Arrow asked.

Red Robin gave him a nod. "Yeah, she's okay." 

"Well, the male population won't be if we don't figure out how to stop Ivy." Red Hood spoke up.

"We need to get through that wall of ice," Batman said as he looked around. "Superman's heat vision could work, but it would be too slow. This is time-sensitive and we need to work fast." 

"So why don't we distract while Superman and Superboy melt the ice so we can get in at least?" Spoiler spoke up.

There was a hum of agreement and laughter as they all dove off the roof, leaving Superman and Superboy to find an empty place to melt. Their feet hit the ground and took out several men before the others began to shoot at them.

They split up into groups and fought off Two-Face, Penguin, and their men. Black Canary fought with Green Arrow while Nightwing and Red Hood fought, leaving Red Robin with Spoiler and Batman with Robin. 

It seemed that they had a constant supply of lackeys, the vigilantes were getting overwhelmed and fast as they were pushed back into a corner to defend themselves. If help didn't come and soon, they would be in trouble.

Green Arrow looked at Black Canary in silent hopes that Roy did what they had asked him to, it was their only chance of getting out of this.

All of a sudden, something shot from the shy and landed in the large glacier of ice blowing it up as it rained down on the men below effectively burying them in the snow and ice. The thugs all looked up and began firing above them at something that was running across the roofs to not get shot. 

Red Robin squinted his eyes to try and see what it was, but all he could see was a flash of white before the area around them began to blow up. Four more explosions had gone off before a figure jumped off, flipping through the air, and landed in front of them. 

"You fire one more bullet and I will make sure you regret living to tell the tale." she grinned, raising her white bow with matching arrows, aiming one at them. "I made winter come early for your buddies over there, unless you want to join them I suggest you run." 

Everyone's eyes widened at the person in front of them. There, like a beacon of light stood The White Arrow; protector of Star City and now Gotham.

The thugs in front of them didn't seem to get the message and began firing at her as she took off hiding behind an overturned car. Grabbing the right type, White Arrow peeked over and shot three concussive arrows at them, watching as they clutched their heads to try and block out the sound.

Quickly she jumped over and took them all down before they could even try and fight back. The others took this to their advantage and helped White Arrow knock them out, as she blew back a piece of stray brown hair out of her face that contrasted against the white of her suit.

Quickly White Arrow turned and looked at the others, "Is everyone alright?" she asked.

Red Robin blinked multiple times, he had to be dreaming. Rory said she had left White Arrow behind, but how was she here? "Yeah, we're okay." he managed to say.

"Good, now don't we have a few supervillains that need their asses kicked?" she grinned.

"How the hell are you here? I thought we sent you home!" Red Hood spoke up. 

"Arsenal brought me a gift, and I decided it was time to try it on." White Arrow laughed. "Bulletproof and the gold designs are electrically insulated. Let's see the Joker try and electrocute me in this." 

"Glad to see you back kiddo." Green Arrow said and hugged her tightly. White Arrow hugged him back and smiled. 

"Good to be back. Now, what's the plan?" she asked.

"We need to get inside and stop Ivy, she has Harley and Clayface with her. Superman and Superboy are melting the ice as we speak." Nightwing spoke up.

"I hate to steal their thunder, but I kind of just blew it up." White Arrow chuckled. "Red Robin and I will start to make our way in, the rest of you can clean up out here and we can pick up Superboy on the way," she said.

Red Robin stepped forward and took her hand. "Sounds like a plan, let's get going." she gave him a nod and took off with him right behind her. As they ran, they passed Superman and Superboy.

"Nice suit Sunshine!" Superboy called and flew down. 

"Courtesy of Team Arrow, let's head inside." he gave her a nod and followed them in as they made their way through the building. Once they were inside, it was eerily quiet not a sound could be heard. Not even their footsteps. 

White Arrow led the group quietly, listening in for any sign of Harley, Clayface, or Ivy. She had a new sense of purpose now and was ready to put an end to this once and for all. As they walked, Harley's voice could be heard from down the hall.

"Don't ya think that this is a little too much? All because some girl won't go out with you Pammy?" she asked.

"She is more than just some girl Harley, she is different. I can feel it, her mind is polluted by men and I need to fix that." Ivy responded.

A shiver went down White Arrow's back as she listened. Ivy really was crazy, good thing crazy wasn't her type. Quietly, she aimed an arrow and grappled up to the vent above and slid into it with Red Robin and Superboy right behind her. The more they walked, they could peek in below and see the three of them in the Mayor's office talking about White Arrow and Ivy's obsession with her.

"Pammy, it's obvious the girl doesn't like you. Just go ahead and kill her already!" Harley reasoned.

"She's right, this girl is no good," Clayface said, his voice vibrating the vents from how loud and rumbly it was. 

"You're both wrong, she is good. That's what makes her so different. She is good, but she has a darkness to her." Ivy said as she poured the vial into a device.

"We should probably intervene." Red Robin mumbled. The other two gave him a nod and they all dropped out of the vent. White Arrow swung down and kicked Ivy in the side, sending her through the door. Red Robin fought off Harley while Superboy fought off Clayface. 

The only one in the room doing this against their will was Clayface, somehow Ivy managed to use her toxins on him and get him to do what she wanted. White Arrow got to her feet and aimed an arrow at Ivy. "I hate to drop in unexpectedly, but what else could you expect from me?" she grinned.

Ivy frowned and got to her feet. "This will be the last time you cross me Arrow!" she snarled and set multiple plants towards her. Quickly, she ran and dodged them all before they could touch her, firing arrows at them that froze them to the wall. 

"Hey! Can you give me a few of those for Clayface here!?" Superboy called. 

White Arrow turned and fired a few at Clayface, freezing parts of him for Superboy before she continued to fight off Ivy. Red Robin was locked in combat with Harley, trying to keep her from helping out her friend. 

Ivy only seemed to get angrier. "You don't know when to quit do you?" she snapped. 

"Nope, but that's part of my charm!" she laughed and jumped over her as she kicked her in the chest. White Arrow pinned her down and put a collar on Ivy, that she had picked up from Oracle before she left. It suppressed her abilities and that meant Ivy couldn't fight her off. She cuffed her and grinned.

"But you like my charm, sorry Ivy. Bad guys don't win." she teased. Looking up she saw that Robin was having trouble with Harley who was flipping around him. "Don't move." she snapped and got up before she jumped up onto Harley's shoulder and pulled her to the ground head first, knocking her out.

"Thanks for that." Red chuckled and kissed her cheek. White Arrow batted him away and watched as Clayface calmed down and looked around. With Ivy's abilities subdued, so was her mind control. That meant that Two-Face, Freeze, and Penguin were all free from her control as well and were probably high tailing it out of the area.

Clayface gave them a nod before he slid out of the room in a silent thank you. Once he was gone, the three heroes collapsed to the floor and sat down with Ivy glaring daggers at them.

"It's over." White Arrow muttered.

"Finally, after almost a year it's over." Red Robin mumbled.

"I don't know how you lot haven't gone nuts yet, Gotham is crazy." Superboy chuckled as he laid on the floor. 

"It's home." White Arrow and Red Robin answered together before they laughed and shared a kiss. Slowly the three of them got up and drug Ivy and Harley out of the building where Batman and the others were waiting with the GCPD there waiting for them. 

"You three did good, I'm proud." 

The three of them gave each other a look. "Did Batman just say that he is proud of us?" Superboy muttered quietly.

"I think he did, are we sure he didn't get hit on the head?" White Arrow chuckled. 

Batman crossed his arms with a slightly amused expression on his face. "Where is Clayface?" he asked.

"I let him go he was under Ivy's control, therefore he is innocent." White Arrow spoke. "At least for now." 

Superman stepped forward and looked at the three of them. "You know White Arrow, that offer is still up in the air if you want to join the League. Four members saw what you did here today in person, not to mention those who saw it nationwide," he spoke.

"But she could always join me and the Outlaws, someone has to keep Arsenal in line you know?" Red Hood spoke up, standing on the other side of Batman with his arms crossed.

White Arrow looked between the two of them, two different teams wanted her to join them. Red Robin took her hand as she turned to look at him. "Whatever you pick, I will be here waiting for you." he smiled.

She blushed a little and took a deep breath. Before she had said that she wasn't a team player, but Red Hood was right. All she has done since she arrived in Gotham was work on a team, and maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what team do you think she will join?? The Justice League, or the Outlaws??


	57. Epilogue

Tim stood on the roof as he looked out across the star-lit sky. The Eiffel Tower was lit up beautifully and all of Paris shone brightly across the city. He looked at the watch on his hand, Rory was supposed to be there already but plans changed a lot when your girlfriend was part of the Justice League. 

She had been part of the team only for a few months and grew in popularity as little girls walked around dressed as the White Arrow. It was safe to say that White Arrow was almost as popular as Wonder Woman, and that was a statement in itself. 

Checking his phone, he saw that there were no messages. Normally if she had to cancel, Rory would send a text or call ahead and so far there was nothing so he kept his hopes up. Closing his eyes, he could hear the traffic below and the soft sounds of people conversing about anything and everything. It really was a beautiful night, and he wanted to spend it with someone just as beautiful.

Rory climbed the stairs in a hurry, she knew that she was late enough as it was and didn't want to keep Tim waiting for her any longer. The mission had gone longer than they had anticipated, even though Diana and Dinah knew why she wanted to wrap things up quickly. But you couldn't rush missions, that was when someone got hurt. 

Adjusting her shoes, her dress, and her jewelry Rory pushed open the door to the roof and walked across the patio to the boy who was standing across from her. Tim's head perked up and a smile spread across his face when he saw her standing there in a beautiful white dress. 

Quickly he sprinted over and pulled her close to him, Rory meeting his lips with her own. It had been a few weeks since she had seen him last and almost two months since they had a date together. She had given the other members of the League a heads up that she had an important event coming up and to not bother her unless the world was ending. 

Tim's hands gripped her waist tightly as he kissed her deeply, Rory's hands running through his hair softly as her body molded into his. Slowly he pulled away and brushed her hair out of her face. "I missed you Songbird." he smiled softly.

"I missed you too, and I'm sorry that I'm so late. Diana was having a problem with Cheetah and needed help, and that took longer than expected and we had to call in Dinah and Hal making it a whole mess of things before we actua-" 

Tim cut her off with a kiss as she made a noise of surprise as she cupped his face kissing him back. "Sorry, I'm rambling aren't I?" she asked with a giggle.

"It's okay, I find it cute. But you really aren't that late, dinner is still warm and right now I have all the time in the world for you," he said, taking her hand and leading her to a candle-lit dinner. Tim pulled out her seat for her as she sat in it, kissing his cheek as he sat across from her.

"You are too amazing for words Timothy, you truly are," she said, looking around. They were on top of one of the safe houses Bruce had set up around the world, this one being in Paris. The two of them had finally gotten their trip to Paris, it had only taken them a little longer than expected. But they had thought that this was the perfect occasion for it. 

Rory picked up her glass, sipping the white wine slowly as she let out a sigh of delight. Looking at the food, everything was perfect and all because of Tim. 

They ate their dinner and dessert together, as they talked about everything that had happened in the last few weeks. Tim and Rory shared an apartment now, and she became an official member of Gotham's list of heroes, with Jim Gordon happy to have someone with a sense of fashion that wasn't black sticking around. They might live together now, but Rory was constantly in and out of the door so often that she didn't get to see him much.

Tim didn't mind, he was glad for the moments he got to see her even if they were far too few to count. It just made the moments he had with her worth that much more to him. Once they had finished eating, he got up and took her hand pulling Rory to her feet.

The cold December wind blew through the area, sending a chill up Rory's spine. Tim slid off his coat and wrapped it around her and pulled her body close to his. "Remember the last time we did this?" he asked as they danced around the rooftop.

"Yes, we were back at the Manor and I was under house arrest again. You wanted to be sappy and romantic, so you had planned out a whole day for us to spend in the Manor ending the night very similar to this one," she answered, looking up at him. "The only difference being, we are still dressed." she chuckled.

"Well, that can change." he teased, sliding his hand down to pull her closer. Rory leaned against him as they danced around, listening to the beat of the city. "I love you Aurora Queen."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I love you too Timothy Drake, Happy Anniversary."

"Happy Anniversary, Songbird" he bent down and kissed her once again, as he took Rory's breath away. She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him down closer to her, as he began to lead them both back inside where they could spend the rest of the night making love under the Paris night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end of The Archer! I originally wrote all of this on Wattpad, but I also posted it on Tumblr under the user PricetagOfficial. I hope you all loved this story and grew to love Rory as much as I do. And for the topic of a sequel, I will post what I have written soon! It's titled "Ghost" and I am excited to share it with you all!


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